- CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of therapeutic cancer vaccines for indications caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
- The 15-month program focuses on combining the expertise and knowledge of both parties to design and test the anti-tumour efficacy of CHAIN’s novel, orally administered HPV vaccine candidates. The efficacy of the candidates will be tested in the DKFZ’s Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)-humanized, HPV oncogene-dependent orthotopic murine tumour models.
Nottingham- UK – 11th April 2024- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd (‘CHAIN’ or ‘the Company’) announces it has started a collaboration with the DKFZ, who have developed an orthotopic HPV tumour model using mice expressing human MHC immune proteins.
The program forms part of CHAIN’s previously reported expansion into immune oncology therapeutics, utilising its novel Clostridium Assisted Drug Delivery (CADD) live spore system for thermostable oral delivery of therapeutic cancer vaccines.
There is a significant unmet medical need to treat cancers resulting from HPV infections. Cervical cancers are the 4th most common cancer in women, accounting for 662,3001 new cases every year, over 95% of which are associated with HPV infection. Other types of cancer, such as anal cancer or oropharyngeal cancers, are also caused by HPV infections. Treatment of cervical cancer typically consists of surgery and chemoradiotherapy. Currently, the only vaccines available for HPV are prophylactic, and therefore are not effective in the treatment of these cancers. Subsequently, CHAIN and the DKFZ will work together to harness their extensive research and expert knowledge of HPV-related malignancies to design and test new treatments for HPV-related cancers. CHAIN will engineer a range of new HPV vaccine candidates in their proprietary CADD system for the DKFZ to test in their in vitro cell-based assays and in vivo mouse models of HPV malignancies.
CHAIN’s CADD platform uses proprietary, modified strains of Clostridium, a key component of the healthy human microbiome. The strains are administered orally and are engineered to express therapeutic payloads in the colon together with naturally occurring beneficial metabolites. Expression of the antigens helps to elicit a mucosal and systemic immune response, which form an important part of how the body can combat HPV-related malignancies, which typically arise at mucosal sites. The collaborative project with the DKFZ will test CADD-HPV cancer vaccines in orthotopic tumour models, i.e. tumours located in the same anatomical locations as HPV-mediated cancers arise in humans, using mice with human MHC genes.
Dr Steve Emery, Chief Scientific Officer at CHAIN, said:
“CHAIN is delighted to be working with the DKFZ. By combining our respective technical knowledge and expertise, we will be able to accelerate the development of novel therapeutic vaccines, for treating HPV-related cancers. HPV-related cancers are one of the world’s most prevalent cancers with no currently approved therapies that are designed to specifically target these malignancies. This collaboration will enable CHAIN to rapidly test therapeutic candidates using our proprietary oral antigen delivery system (CADD) and, together with the DKFZ, further explore the mechanism of action and efficacy in transgenic animal models. The DKFZ has developed animal tumour models for HPV cancers, which are world leading with respect to their relationship to the human immune system and thus provide excellent potential for translation to a clinical scenario.”
Dr Angelika Riemer, head of the Division of Immunotherapy and Immunoprevention at the DKFZ, said:
“It is the overarching goal of my research group to develop an efficient therapeutic HPV vaccine. We have defined and validated target epitopes that are bona fide present on human cancer cells, and invested quite some effort in establishing our orthotopic, HPV-driven murine tumour models. The mucosal location and the fact that these MHC-humanized mice present and recognize “human” epitopes promises much more translationally relevant results than the use of previous murine models.
I am very much looking forward to be able to co-develop and test constructs based on CHAIN’s CADD delivery system. Through the oral delivery, mucosal immunity is expected to be triggered, which is of special importance for eradicating mucosally located tumours. Another aspect which is particularly appealing to me is the fact that the spores are heat-stable. The major burden of HPV-mediated disease is carried by LMICs. In these countries, both maintaining of a cold chain and repetitive invasive delivery, such as through injections, can be challenging. The CADD system circumvents both of these issues.”
1: https://gco.iarc.who.int/media/globocan/factsheets/cancers/23-cervix-uteri-fact-sheet.pdf
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About the DKFZ
The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany, with over 100 divisions investigating the mechanisms and risk factors behind cancer, and researching innovative strategies to prevent and treat it. Researchers at the DKFZ have an accomplished history of scientific merit, being awarded both the Nobel Prize in Medicine and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry over the last two decades.
For more information, please visit: https://www.dkfz.de/en/index.html
About CHAIN Biotechnology
CHAIN Biotechnology is an immune-oncology therapeutics company based at MediCity Nottingham. CHAIN develops oral vaccine immuno-therapies targeting the lower gastrointestinal tract with several therapeutic candidates in pre-clinical development.
CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Delivery (CADD) technology is based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium bacterial strain that is engineered to deliver a specific therapeutic modality, whilst also secreting metabolites that play key roles in gut and immune system homeostasis. The engineered strains produce the therapeutics in situ during growth in the lower gastrointestinal tract, impacting on the systemic and mucosal immune system.
The CADD platform supports oral drug delivery that is targeted and controllable. In addition, the live biotherapeutics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively and are highly stable, requiring no cold chain. The technology overcomes many of the challenges associated with drug delivery and vaccination.
For more information, please visit: https://www.chainbiotech.com
- CHAIN have closed a financing round led by new investors, BGF and SynBioVen, alongside existing investor, UKI2S and strategic partner, Miyarisan Pharmaceutical.
- Investment will enable CHAIN to develop its CADD therapeutic platform and demonstrate its unique potential for use as an immune therapy in oncology.
- CHAIN will initially focus on immune therapies to treat Cervical, Oral and Pharyngeal cancers.
Nottingham, United Kingdom – 26 July 2023 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHAIN Biotechnology Limited (‘CHAIN’, or ‘the Company’), has developed a unique proprietary, therapeutic approach based on engineering a probiotic strain of Clostridium to deliver oral vaccines and therapeutics. CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADD) technology is a live therapeutic that employs a triple mode of action, incorporating mucosal and systemic immune responses alongside microbiome enhancement, and is delivered via highly stable, robust endospores that allow targeted, controllable therapeutic action.
CHAIN’s platform is already in development to deliver prophylactic vaccines and this funding round will enable CHAIN to focus on using its unique platform as a treatment for major solid tumour cancers.
The round was led by new investors, Business Growth Fund (BGF), one of the largest and most experienced investors in the UK and Ireland, and venture capital investment group SynBioVen, who specialize in backing synthetic biology-based products, together with strategic investor and partner Miyarisan Pharmaceuticals and existing investor, UKI2S.
Matthew Duchars, CEO of CHAIN, said: “This funding is instrumental in enabling CHAIN to advance its platform in the field of immune-oncology. CHAIN’s CADD system has huge potential to provide an effective and easy to administer therapy in this field. We are very excited to welcome our new investors BGF and SynBioVen who, together with Miyarisan and UKI2S, have enabled us to move forward with this exciting stage in CADD’s development.”
Tim Rea, head of early-stage investments at BGF, said: “CHAIN is a leading light in the field of microbiome medicine, offering a highly differentiated and patent-protected platform which enables safe and effective oral drug delivery for a range of conditions. We have been consistently impressed by the progress CHAIN has made to date and believe it is now in an ideal position to capitalise on the vast potential of its ground-breaking technology.”
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For further information, please contact:
CHAIN Biotechnology
Matthew Duchars, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +44 (0) 7494 260812
Email: matthew.duchars@chainbiotech.com
About CHAIN Biotechnology
CHAIN Biotechnology specializes in the delivery of proteins and peptides to the lower gut for immunotherapeutic and prophylactic purposes. Based at MediCity Nottingham, CHAIN develops oral vaccines and immuno-therapies targeting the lower gastrointestinal tract using a Clostridium based delivery system. Their Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADD) technology is based on a highly effective Clostridium bacterial strain that is used as a human probiotic. The strain is engineered to deliver carefully selected proteins or peptides targeting specific indications, whilst simultaneously secreting metabolites that play key roles in gut and immune system homeostasis. The engineered strains target the systemic and mucosal immune system, by producing the selected proteins and peptides in situ, while growing in the lower gastrointestinal tract.
The CADD platform supports oral drug delivery that is both targeted and controllable. In addition, our live biotherapeutics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively and are highly stable with no cold chain logistics. The technology overcomes many of the challenges associated with drug delivery and vaccination.
For more information, please visit: https://www.chainbiotech.com
About BGF
BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested over £3bn in more than 500 companies, making it one of the most active growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland. Investing from a balance sheet of c. £2.5bn, BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 15 offices. BGF models have now been set up in Canada and Australia, with other countries evaluating the opportunity to replicate this.
For more information, please visit: www.bgf.co.uk
About SynBioVen
SynBioVen was formed in early 2022 to invest in and actively support early-stage, UK companies leveraging synthetic biology to build new platform and products. The team includes Professors Dick Kitney and Paul Freemont (the UK’s forefathers of synthetic biology), Lord David Willetts (Chair of the UK Space Agency, former Minister for Universities and Science and creator of the Synthetic Biology Leadership) and Sir David Harding (Founder and CEO of research-based, quantitative investment firm, the Winton Group). SynBioVen works closely with SynbiCITE, UK’s leading synthetic biology infrastructure hub located at Imperial White City.
For more information, please visit: https://www.synbioven.com
About UKI2S
UKI2S is a national seed investment fund that nurtures innovative businesses to leverage private investment and grow jobs, recycling profits from the realisation of our investments into the next generation of impactful UK companies. We invest in innovations emerging from the UK’s publicly funded science and knowledge base. We specialise in engineering, biology, defence & security, fusion energy, to facilitate sustainable growth, enhance the health and security of society, improve productivity, and deliver economic gains emerging from UK’s public funding portfolio. The fund is backed by UK Research and Innovation, Ministry of Defence, the Department of Science Innovation and Technology, the UK Atomic Energy Authority and other public bodies. It is independently managed by Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Ltd, the impact-led, global venture capital firm.
About Miyarisan Pharmaceutical
Miyarisan is a pharmaceutical company based in Japan, with a corporate office in Tokyo and manufacturing and development plants in Nagano and Saitama.
Miyarisan manufacture and market their probiotic C. butyricum strain MIYARI 588 in Japan, where it is commercially available to treat both non-antimicrobial induced diarrhoea and antimicrobial associated diarrhoea in humans. The strain was discovered by Dr. Miyairi in 1933 at the department of Hygiene at Chiba Medical College, and since its first commercial production in 1940, it has developed into an efficacious treatment for colitis and gastroenteritis.
Miyarisan also manufacture over-the-counter probiotics, which are available in Japan and Korea, and were approved by the European Commission as a ‘novel food’ in 2014 for EU markets. Miyarisan’s MIYARI 588-based animal feed additive, MIYA-GOLD, has been shown to increase growth performance without modifying the commensal microbiome when used as a probiotic and is available globally.
For more information, please visit www.miyarisan.com/english_index.htm
The UK biotech has announced an investment agreement with Japan-based pharmaceutical company Miyarisan to help scale and manufacture their oral therapeutics pipeline.
Nottingham, UK- 3rd January 2023- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Miyarisan currently manufacture the probiotic bacterial strain MIYARI 588 for Asian and European markets, and bring extensive Clostridium bacterial spore manufacturing and formulation expertise, along with fermentation process development to the table. Combined with CHAIN’s engineering biology expertise, the two companies plan to repurpose a proven Clostridium probiotic species into a therapeutic, co-developing and manufacturing novel oral treatments targeting infection and cancer.
CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Delivery (CADD) platform has broad therapeutic applications which, with strategic investment and support from Miyarisan, can be used to develop drug candidates addressing a range of immune-oncological and infective targets.
CHAIN has also recently partnered with the University of Oxford, focusing on the development of a superior oral vaccine for Human Rotavirus (HRV). HRV is the leading cause of Childhood Diarrhoeal Diseases (CDDs) in low-income countries, affecting over 1.7 billion children every year and resulting in over 500,000 deaths. CHAIN’s oral vaccine being developed through the project aims to subvert the vaccine efficacy gap and combat vaccine inequality, utilising the investment and collaboration from Miyarisan to provide a route to scale-up and manufacture.
CHAIN CEO Dr. Matthew Duchars said:
“CHAIN is excited to have Miyarisan as a strategic investor. Miyarisan have a wealth of experience in commercial scale manufacturing which is highly synergistic with CHAIN’s experience in the genetic engineering of probiotic strains. By applying CHAIN’s unique CADD system to new disease targets and combining that with Miyarisan’s strength in manufacturing, the two companies can accelerate the development of medicines to help prevent and treat target diseases.”
Masayuki UCHIDA, President of Miyarisan Pharmaceutical added:
“Miyarisan Pharmaceutical’s is pleased to announce an investment in CHAIN Biotechnology. The two companies share a mutual interest in developing products that enhance the microbiome to improve health. CHAIN has combined innovative genetic engineering with microbiome technology using their “CADD” system, and has the potential to broaden microbiome technologies for use against specific disease targets. The combination of CHAIN’s high-quality genetic engineering science, coupled with Miyarisan’s experience in manufacture of microbiome enhancing live biotherapeutic products will create an opportunity to benefit patients, through the development of new and improved medicines.”
About Miyarisan Pharmaceutical
Miyarisan is a pharmaceutical company based in Japan, with a corporate office in Tokyo and manufacturing and development plants in Nagano and Saitama.
Miyarisan manufacture and market their probiotic C.butyricum strain MIYARI 588 in Japan, where it is commercially available to treat both non-antimicrobial induced diarrhoea and antimicrobial associated diarrhoea in humans. The strain was discovered in by Dr. Miyairi in 1933 at the department of Hygiene at Chiba Medical College, and since its first commercial production in 1940, it has developed into an efficacious treatment for colitis and gastroenteritis.
Miyarisan also manufacture over-the-counter probiotics, which are available in Japan and Korea, and were approved by the European Commission as a ‘novel food’ in 2014 for EU markets. Miyarisan’s MIYARI 588-based animal feed additive, MIYA-GOLD, has been shown to increase growth performance without modifying the commensal microbiome when used as a probiotic and is available globally.
For more information, please visit www.miyarisan.com/english_index.htm
About CHAIN Biotech
CHAIN Biotechnology is a microbiome therapeutics company based at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN develops oral vaccines and immuno-therapies targeting the lower gastrointestinal tract with several therapeutic candidates in pre-clinical development.
CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADD) technology is based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium bacterial strain that is engineered to deliver a specific therapeutic modality, whilst also secreting metabolites that play key roles in gut and immune system homeostasis. The engineered strains produce the therapeutics in situ during growth in the lower gastrointestinal tract, impacting on the systemic and mucosal immune system.
The CADD platform supports oral drug delivery that is targeted and controllable. In addition, our live biotherapeutics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively and are highly stable (no cold chain logistics). The technology overcomes many of the challenges associated with drug delivery and vaccination.
For more information, please visit: https://www.chainbiotech.com
CHAIN announces the appointment of Dr Matthew Duchars as Chief Executive from the 1st of August 2022
Nottingham, UK- 22nd of July 2022- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Matthew is an experienced leader in vaccine development and manufacture with senior management roles at the Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, Oxford (CEO), the Sabin Vaccine institute, Washington DC, USA (Senior Vice President, R&D) and with Emergent Biosolutions, Gaithersburg, MD, USA (Vice President, Product Development).
CHAIN Biotech has developed an innovative CADDTM platform which is based on living gut bacteria that form part of the microbiome. The bacteria produce functional molecules in the lower gastrointestinal tract where they have a positive impact on the gut microbiome and mucosal health. Engineering biology is used to add additional therapeutic functionality through the expression of specific antigenic peptides, which makes the CADDTM platform ideally suited for oral vaccines.
Matthew will replace CHAIN’s founder Dr Edward Green as Chief Executive with a focus on further developing the CADDTM platform for oral vaccination. Edward will remain on the Board, and act as Chief Scientific Advisor.
Dr Matthew Duchars said:
“I am excited to join the CHAIN team. I am greatly impressed by their expertise and highly innovative CADDTM platform technology with the potential to develop effective oral vaccines. The company has done a great job securing several strategic partnerships that bring both credibility and help de-risk drug development and manufacture.”
Dr Nel Moore, Chair of CHAIN Biotech, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Matthew to CHAIN’s leadership team. Matthew brings a wealth of experience in vaccine development and manufacture that complements our strain engineering and microbiology skills. I look forward to working closely with Matthew to develop our technology for oral vaccine applications, bringing benefit to patients and building shareholder value.”
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Edward Green, CHAIN Biotech
T: +44 (0)775 3610798 | E: edward@chainbiotech.com
CHAIN announces a new collaboration with clinical researchers at the University of Oxford to develop superior oral vaccines for infectious diseases
Marlow, UK- 22nd of June 2022- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHAIN Biotechnology and the University of Oxford plan to collaborate on a two-year project to develop a new type of vaccine to immunise against human rotavirus (HRV) infection. Ultimately, the aim is to prevent Childhood Diarrhoeal Disease in malnourished children and transform the lives of millions of families across the world.
Childhood Diarrhoeal Disease (CDD) is a global health problem affecting over 1.7 billion children every year and resulting in over 500,000 deaths, mainly in low-income countries. The most common cause of CDD is infection with human rotavirus (HRV). Oral vaccines that protect against HRV infection are available but relatively expensive, and difficult to transport and administer in remote areas as they need to be kept cold. Also, they are largely ineffective in undernourished children.
We aim to develop a superior oral vaccine for HRV that is simple, inexpensive, highly effective and overcomes oral vaccine challenges associated with antigen preservation, antigen delivery and immune stimulation. Our goal is to subvert the vaccine efficacy gap in low-income countries and combat vaccine inequality.
CHAIN Biotech has developed an innovative CADDTM platform for oral drug delivery, based on living gutbacteria with a long, safe history of use in humans and engineered to deliver specific therapeutic cargo to the lower gastrointestinal tract. The bacteria are delivered orally, in spore form, and travel intact through the stomach and small intestine until they reach the colon where they germinate. The bacterial cells then grow and produce candidate molecules impacting on the gut mucosa. The CADDTM platform can be used for oral vaccination through the expression of specific antigenic peptides.
In this project, CHAIN will engineer Clostridium to secrete antigenic peptides designed to provoke an immune response against HRV. The University will undertake pre-clinical evaluation. This work will be led by Dr Kelsey Jones, a Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Dr Jones investigates the association between malnutrition, immunology, and poverty with pioneering research into the effect of undernutrition on the innate immune system in the gut.
The project is supported by a grant from Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst programme. The Assessors felt ‘the project has good potential with a favourable risk-reward profile, addresses high unmet clinical need and that the technical solution was highly innovative. Overall, CHAIN’s oral vaccine platform was deemed very attractive for public finding adding to the UK’s leadership in the vaccine field.’
Dr Edward Green, Chief Executive of CHAIN Biotech, said:
‘We are really excited about our new project with the Kennedy Institute and the potential to build on this collaboration to validate our oral vaccine candidates. The University has world class expertise and facilities that should accelerate the development of our novel microbiome therapeutics for a broad range of clinical indications including oncology.’
Professor Fiona Powrie FRS, Professor of Musculoskeletal Sciences and Director of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, added:
‘We are delighted to partner with CHAIN Biotech in developing this innovative mucosal vaccine platform. The ability to use the CADD system to target delivery of antigens and other molecules to specific regions of the gastrointestinal tract has significant translational potential.’
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Edward Green, CHAIN Biotech
T: +44 (0)775 3610798 | E: edward@chainbiotech.com
Notes to Editor
About the Kennedy Institute
The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford is a world-leading medical research centre. Discovery research drives development of transformative therapies for chronic inflammatory and degenerative disease. Directed by Professor Fiona Powrie FRS, the Kennedy Institute has over 25 research groups working in the areas of immunity and microbiome, inflammation biology and tissue re-modelling and repair. Investigators at the Institute take a multidisciplinary approach incorporating molecular and cellular biology with analysis of disease models and interrogation of patient tissue samples.
For more information, please visit: Homepage — The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (ox.ac.uk)
CHAIN has developed a platform technology called CADDTM for oral drug delivery based on living bacteria (known as live biotherapeutics). CADDTM is unique, transformational with broad clinical applicability. US and EU patents describing the use of CADDTM to treat inflammatory bowel disease have recently been granted.
Marlow, UK – 7th May 2021 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UK-based CHAIN Biotechnology (CHAIN) develops novel therapeutics based on living bacteria that have been engineered to deliver therapeutic cargo to the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The lower GI tract is an area of major clinical importance, housing a large portion of the gut microbiome as well as providing access to the immune system via the gut mucosa.
Drug delivery to the lower GI tract is difficult using conventional approaches and diseases associated with this organ can be devastating for patients. CHAIN’s European patent (EP 3515429) and US patent (10,987,325) relate to the development of a living biotherapeutics for treating inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.
The therapeutic cargo is a metabolite called (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate or β-hydroxybutyrate (β -HB). This is the major ketone body produced in the liver and provides a circulating energy source for tissue in times of fasting or following prolonged exercise. It is also a highly dynamic molecule with strong anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress properties.
The patents describe the use of engineered bacteria to both produce and deliver β -HB to the GI tract and dampen inflammation. Our clinical focus is ulcerative colitis, a chronic and debilitating disease resulting from inflammation of the colon.
CHAIN’s therapeutics are delivered orally, and the candidate molecules are secreted during bacterial cell growth in the lower GI tract impacting on both the microbiota and gut mucosa. Oral drug delivery, using a live biotherapeutic producing an anti-inflammatory compound in the gut, should provide a safe and more effective treatment and provide patients with better control over their treatment regime.
Dr Edward Green, CEO of CHAIN Biotech, said:
“We are delighted to get our first patents awarded in two key territories. Delivery of anti-inflammatory metabolites to the gut mucosa in a controlled fashion supports a new and highly effective treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. We are excited about the therapeutic potential of this innovative product to treat chronic inflammation in the lower GI and provide significant patient benefits. CHAIN’s drug development platform is novel with broad clinical applicability. These patents validate our approach paving the way for a new class of immuno-modulatory therapeutics.”
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Edward Green, Chief Executive CHAIN
T: +44 (0)775 3610798 | E: edward.green@chainbiotech.com
About CHAIN Biotech
CHAIN Biotechnology is a pre-clinical microbiome therapeutics company based at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN develops oral vaccines with immunomodulatory properties targeting infectious disease, inflammation and oncology.
CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADDTM) technology is based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium bacterial strain that is engineered to deliver a specific therapeutic modality, whilst also secreting metabolites that play key roles in gut and immune system homeostasis. The engineered strains produce the therapeutics in situ during growth in the lower GI tract, impacting on the systemic and mucosal immune system.
The CADDTM platform supports oral drug delivery that is targeted and controllable. In addition, our live biotherapeutics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively and are highly stable (no cold chain logistics). The technology overcomes many of the challenges associated with drug delivery and vaccination.
For more information, please visit: https://www.chainbiotech.com
Oxford Vacmedix and CHAIN Biotech have signed Heads of Terms for a Collaboration Agreement to develop and commercialise oral vaccines targeting cancer & infectious disease
Marlow, UK – 4th January 2021 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHAIN Biotechnology (CHAIN), a UK-based microbiome therapeutics company, focused on the development of oral vaccines, announced today that Heads of Terms for a Collaboration Agreement have been signed with Oxford Vacmedix (OVM).
The collaboration builds on a successful Innovate UK funded research programme between CHAIN and the University of Oxford using OVM’s recombinant overlapping peptide (ROP) vaccines integrated into CHAIN’s CADDTM oral drug technology based on engineered bacteria. The project results show that an ROP antigen designed for human papilloma virus (HPV) was successfully administered orally in mice using the CADDTM delivery system and that it stimulated an antigen specific systemic CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response via the gut mucosa.
The Collaboration Agreement is structured for OVM and CHAIN to co-develop a specific oral therapeutic vaccine for HPV and other oral vaccines targeting infectious disease and cancer. The benefits of oral delivery are compelling for the patient, with greater acceptability and ease of use with no injection related side effects. Oral vaccines based on CADDTM do not require any cold chain logistics and are relatively simple to manufacture. This reduces cost and supports widespread distribution. Furthermore, CADDTM oral vaccines can potentially stimulate a mucosal immune response at the site of infection offering improved efficacy.
Edward Green, CEO of CHAIN Biotech, said:
“We are delighted to be able to carry on the work started with the University of Oxford using an Innovate UK grant. This Agreement is our first external development partnership to exploit our innovative CADDTM oral drug delivery platform. We are excited about the therapeutic potential of OVM’s ROP technology and look forward to working together to develop novel oral vaccines that provide significant patient benefits”
William Finch, CEO of Oxford Vacmedix, added:
“We are very pleased to have signed these Heads of Terms for the Collaboration Agreement with CHAIN. The potential for effective vaccines that can easily be taken by mouth is enormous. If successful this development programme could lead to a new generation of orally delivered vaccines in cancer and potentially also in infectious diseases”
ENDS
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Edward Green, Chief Executive CHAIN
T: +44 (0)775 3610798 | E: edward.green@chainbiotech.com
Notes to Editor:
About CHAIN Biotech
CHAIN Biotechnology is a microbiome therapeutics company based at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN develops oral vaccines and immuno-therapies targeting the lower gastrointestinal tract with several therapeutic candidates in pre-clinical development.
CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADDTM) technology is based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium bacterial strain that is engineered to deliver a specific therapeutic modality, whilst also secreting metabolites that play key roles in gut and immune system homeostasis. The engineered strains produce the therapeutics in situ during growth in the lower gastrointestinal tract, impacting on the systemic and mucosal immune system.
The CADDTM platform supports oral drug delivery that is targeted and controllable. In addition, our live biotherapeutics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively and are highly stable (no cold chain logistics). The technology overcomes many of the challenges associated with drug delivery and vaccination.
For more information, please visit: https://www.chainbiotech.com
About Oxford Vacmedix
Oxford Vacmedix UK Ltd, based on the Oxford Science Park, UK, is a bio-pharma company that utilizes the novel proprietary platform technology of recombinant overlapping peptides (ROPs) invented by Dr Shisong Jiang. ROPs have been validated as a technology to stimulate broad and strong T cell immunity therefore forming a good platform for cancer therapeutic vaccines and diagnostics. The company is a spin-out of the University of Oxford and has extensive contacts and collaborations in China through Changzhou Bioscience that is using the ROP platform in both diagnostics and adoptive cell therapy.
For more information, please visit: https://www.oxfordvacmedix.com
Following a 2-month closure, CHAIN reopened its laboratories in Nottingham on the 1st June. This comes after a risk assessment and change to working practices to maintain safe working for staff in the labs and office. MediCity has also implemented new measures in the building to support safe working practices which have also contributed to CHAIN staff being able to return to work.
Over the last 6 months, CHAIN has made considerable progress on validation and demonstration of its innovative Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADD), based on the use of engineered bacteria to deliver therapeutics to the colon. The Company can now progress key projects relating to vaccine development including a 2-year Innovate UK funded project focused on enteric pathogens including human rota virus.
The lockdown and lab closure has impacted operations, especially lab work. However, this period has also been highly productive, providing time to analyse recent results and modify our plans and research strategy accordingly. CHAIN will focus its efforts on vaccine development including a new Covid-19 vaccine project and build on recent proof of concept data to develop new projects in immuno-oncology. Our CADD platform is ideally suited for oral vaccination and immuno-modulation.
Going forward, CHAIN will continue to use video conferencing to maintain communication whilst minimising travel time. We will also retain flexible working conditions.
“I have been impressed by the team-work and camaraderie that has developed over the past few weeks through the use of video conferencing. In addition, our management team and Board have done a tremendous job supporting the business through this difficult time. I expect CHAIN to rebound strongly given our highly innovative technology platform and focus on diseases that are relevant and address significant unmet clinical needs”, said Dr Edward Green (CEO).
About CHAIN Biotechnology
CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd is a UK-based microbiome therapeutic company focused on the development and commercialisation of live medicinal products, a new class of drug based on living bacteria found in the gut but engineered to deliver specific therapeutic molecules. We specialise in engineering Clostridia bacteria and our proprietary technology platform (CADDTM), based on a single bacterial species, supports multiple therapeutic products. CHAIN’s products address unmet clinical needs for diseases associated with the human gut microbiome including inflammation, infection, and cancer.
CHAIN’s technology has the potential to transform healthcare across many chronic and debilitating diseases by providing, safer and more efficacious drugs delivered orally. CHAI’N’s live medicinal products do not require any cold chain logistics and easily scaled and cost-competitive to manufacture.
CHAIN was founded in 2014, by biotech entrepreneur Dr Edward Green and has labs at MediCity Nottingham with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN has assembled a highly experienced management team and Board comprising biotech and pharma leaders plus expert scientists with skills in microbiology, engineering biology and fermentation.
An Oxford based nutritional company, TdeltaS Ltd (TΔS®), has developed and commercialised a proprietary ketone ester, which can be used as a food to improve human physical performance and cognitive function in health and disease. The Company’s product, ΔG®, is a ketone monoester that is marketed by HVMN Inc. in the USA for use in their sports drink for improved training, endurance performance and recovery following exercise.
CHAIN Biotech has engineered Clostridium bacteria to produce the chiral chemical building blocks needed to manufacture ΔG®. CHAIN’s “chiral switch” technology supports a fermentation route to the chiral biochemicals, (R)-1,3 butanediol and (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate, from renewable sugar-based feedstocks. The latter is a ‘ketone body’ produced naturally by the liver from fatty acids when fasting or through adopting a high fat ketogenic diet.
The partnership involves an 18-month project focusing on both strain and process improvements to optimise the manufacturing bioprocess and drive down the manufacturing costs of the chemical intermediates. The aim is to deliver a robust fermentation bioprocess that supports a sustainable and cost-effective route to manufacture.
“I am delighted that we are working with Professor Kieran Clarke on this innovative nutritional product. The project opens up new market opportunities for our bio-derived chiral chemicals and supports further development work on our microbiome therapeutics. CHAIN will benefit from Kieran’s world leading expertise on (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate, a highly dynamic molecule with tremendous potential in a broad range of nutritional and therapeutic applications” said Dr Edward Green, Founder and Chief Executive, CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd.
“I am very excited to be starting this project with CHAIN Biotech, a company that has considerable expertise with Clostridia bacteria and unique skills in microbiology, engineering biology and fermentation. CHAIN’s innovative and patented “chiral switch” technology supports cost-competitive production of the chiral building blocks we need to manufacture ΔG®. Both companies share a vision around the nutritional and therapeutic benefits of (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate” said Professor Kieran Clarke, Founder and Chief Executive, TΔS® Ltd.
About CHAIN Biotechnology
CHAIN is a UK microbiome therapeutics company founded by biotech entrepreneur Dr Edward Green. The team is based at MediCity, Nottingham, with a head office in Marlow. CHAIN has built a proprietary and highly differentiated drug development platform (CADD™) based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium strain. The platform enables targeted, safe and controllable drug delivery to the colon. CHAIN’s live biotherapeutic products have significant advantages, including ease of manufacture, low cost of goods and stability of the product.
CHAIN’s unique genetic engineering capability is used to add therapeutic functionality, with a platform that supports a pipeline of therapeutic candidates addressing multiple diseases associated with the human gut microbiome. For example, CHAIN’s lead asset is a novel microbiome therapeutic based on an engineered Clostridium strain that produces and delivers (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate directly in the gut. We capitalise on the molecule’s anti-inflammatory properties targeting inflammatory bowel disease. More recently, the company has expanded its work to include vaccines and cancer therapies.
About TdeltaS (TΔS®)
TΔS® was founded in 2005 by Professor Kieran Clarke, Chair of Physiological Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Building on research at the University, the Company was established to develop and commercialise a proprietary ketone monoester, ΔG®, which can be used as a food to improve human physical performance and cognitive function in health and disease. ΔG® is an entirely new food group offering great promise in a wide range of applications, from sports track to glycaemic control. This revolutionary nutraceutical has shown great promise in sports drinks – for training, endurance performance and recovery following exercise. By directly influencing metabolic function, this new food group increases power output and decreases physical fatigue. Human studies have been published in over 20 high-impact, peer-reviewed papers.
The synthesis and manufacture of ΔG® draws directly on pioneering research carried out at the University of Oxford and the National Institutes of Health. ΔG® is protected by a global patent and trademark portfolio. Currently, ΔG® is marketed by HVMN Inc. in the USA in a sports drink that improves training, endurance performance and recovery following exercise.
CHAIN is pleased to announce a new 18-month research collaboration with Associate Professor John Heap and his research group at the University of Nottingham.
Dr Heap is Associate Professor of Synthetic Biology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, where he is also part of the newly-formed Biodiscovery Institute and the Green Chemicals Beacon.
John has a background in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. His research group studies the use of natural and engineered metabolism for sustainable biomanufacturing, particularly using unconventional microorganisms with ‘exotic’ metabolic capabilities. The group’s research often involves developing and applying synthetic biology technologies to unlock the potential of these organisms, improve production of valuable chemicals, and enhance other industrially relevant properties.
John moved to the University of Nottingham from Imperial College London in 2019. At Imperial John was a Senior Lecturer in Synthetic Biology in the Department of Life Sciences and his group was based in the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology. Prior to 2011, John undertook his PhD and first postdoctoral research position at the University of Nottingham, where he developed breakthrough genetic tools for industrially and medically important Clostridium bacteria. These include the widely used gene editing methods ACE and ClosTron.
“I am delighted that we are working with the Heap lab. John has world leading expertise engineering Clostridium and developed many of the tools that we currently use. Together, we will apply our expertise and capabilities in engineering biology to deliver new functionality to our novel microbiome therapeutic platform. Our focus initially will be on metabolite production including β-hydroxy-butyrate. This new collaboration builds on a long-standing relationship with the University of Nottingham involving collaborations with the Synthetic Biology Research Centre and the School of Medicine” said Dr Edward Green, Chief Executive, CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd.
“I am very pleased to be starting this exciting project with CHAIN Biotech. Metabolic engineering of Clostridium enabled by synthetic biology approaches is a long-standing interest of ours, so it’s great to tackle such industrially relevant challenges. CHAIN’s established platform, team and route to market make this a perfect match.’’ said Dr John Heap.
About CHAIN
CHAIN Biotechnology is a UK microbiome therapeutics company founded by biotech entrepreneur Dr Edward Green. The team is based at MediCity, Nottingham with a head office in Marlow, Bucks.
CHAIN has built a proprietary and highly differentiated drug development platform (CADD™) based on a single, but highly effective, Clostridium strain. This platform enables targeted, safe and controllable drug delivery to the colon. CHAIN’s live biotherapeutic products also offer significant advantages including ease of manufacture, low cost of goods and stability of the drug product. CHAIN’s unique genetic engineering capability is used to add therapeutic functionality and the platform supports a pipeline of therapeutic candidates addressing multiple diseases associated with the human gut microbiome. These include inflammatory bowel disease but more recently the company has expanded its work to include vaccines and cancer therapies.
About the University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world’s top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students – Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 25 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia – part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer, proud of our Athena SWAN silver award, and a key industry partner- locally and globally.