NanoPass's intradermal delivery platform used in Emergex's next generation COVID-19 vaccination study

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• Israel - English

NES ZIONA, Israel, Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Intradermal COVID-19 vaccination studies are emerging in a global effort to use available doses more effectively by harnessing skin immunity to reduce the dosage required for effective vaccination, as well as to improve the immunogenicity of weaker vaccines. Additionally, there is a pressing global need to improve the durability of COVID-19 vaccines universally.

With a view to specifically improving the cell mediated immune response, Emergex has initiated a Phase I clinical study (NCT05113862), named naNO-COVID, of their synthetic T cell adaptive vaccine, which combines priming a specific cocktail of Coronavirus peptides mounted on a gold nanoparticle. During the double-blind, randomised and comparator-controlled study of two groups of 13 volunteers at high and low doses, subjects will be injected using NanoPass's intradermal delivery platform, MicronJet ® 600.

According to Emergex, the vaccine may also offer broad immunity against SARS-CoV-1 and all SARS-CoV-2 variants and provide long-lasting immunity that does not require seasonal booster vaccines.

Dr. Yotam Levin, Nanopass's CEO commented, "Intradermal vaccination is starting to live up to its promise in the fight against COVID-19 and is starting to show improved immunogenicity, potency and safety across all known vaccine platforms including mRNA, viral vectors and proteins". Now that we've accomplished high vaccine efficacy for Wuhan and legacy variants, our next COVID-19 battle is durability and breadth of response, against ever emerging new variants. This is exactly what Emergex is trying to achieve".

Laurens Rademacher, Emergex's Chief Technical Officer added, "T-Cell Vaccine technology offers the potential for durable, long-lasting immunity that does not require seasonal boosting and may be better suited to rapidly mutating viruses than current vaccine technology that rely upon an antibody response".

Laurens Rademacher continued, "Our T cell adaptive vaccines are designed to be administered into the skin, avoiding the need for conventional syringes and needles. Emergex vaccines are expected to be stable for prolonged periods at ambient temperature (>3 months) allowing for easy storage and distribution, expanding the potential for widespread access to populations where limited cold chain capacity is present and so allowing easier deployment of vaccination programs around the world."

About Nano pass
NanoPass is a pioneer in the development and commercialization of microneedle-based delivery platforms for aesthetics, vaccines and more.

NanoPass is partnering with multiple COVID vaccine developers around the globe, to demonstrate that its drug delivery platform, the MicronJet® 600 can reduce the dose of any vaccine as well as to improve immune responses using equivalent doses.

MicronJet®600 is FDA 510k cleared, CE marked and has regulatory approval in Russia, Brazil, South Korea, China and more. It is supported by extensive clinical data and approved for the delivery of any substance or drug under the surface of the skin that is approved for this delivery route. For more information, visit www.nanopass.com.

About Emergex
Emergex, a biotechnology company headquartered in Abingdon, UK, with an operating subsidiary in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, USA, is pioneering the development of synthetic 'set point' vaccines which prime the T-Cell immune response to address some of the world's most immediate health threats such as COVID-19, Dengue Fever, Zika, Ebola, pandemic flu and serious intra-cellular bacterial infections.

Emergex's vaccines aim to prime naive CD8+ T-Cells to generate virus specific CTLs (CD8+ T-cells/Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes) to kill viral infected cells, preventing viral replication and disease and reducing symptoms and the transmissibility between infected and non-infected individuals. As a result, Emergex's T-Cell priming vaccines have the potential to be more effective in targeting rapidly mutating viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and eliminate the need for seasonal booster vaccines in comparison to current vaccine technologies, which primarily rely on an antibody immune response. In addition, Emergex's vaccine is raised against antigens that are highly conserved so may provide cross reactive immunity to SARS-CoV-1 infection and all SARS-CoV-2 variants and strains of the virus, offering broad immune protection from two pandemic viruses in one vaccine.

Emergex vaccines have been designed to be administered via the skin using micro needles and to be stable at ambient room temperature for beyond three months, facilitating rapid and efficient distribution across the world and making administration of the vaccine more patient friendly.

Find out more online at www.emergexvaccines.com.

SOURCE NanoPass; Emergex