Category: News

Burgess Hill, UK, 19 May 2022 — iosBio (‘the Company’), a UK-based biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines that can be administered orally, today announces the appointment of Dr. Craig Laferrière as Chief Development Officer, effective immediately. In his role, Craig will lead the development and execution of iosBio’s pipeline strategy, as the Company moves into its next stage of growth.

Craig is a highly experienced medical adviser, having worked for more than 25 years in vaccine design, manufacturing and licensing. He joins iosBio from CANVAX, Novateur Ventures Inc., an international vaccine consulting business, where he worked with a number of clients, including BioVac in Cape Town optimizing the manufacture of a Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine now licensed in Indonesia under the trade name Pentabio™.

Previously, Craig held the role of Medical Adviser on the Vaccine Leadership Team at Pfizer Canada. During this time, he led and implemented vaccine deployment strategies and provided in-house scientific expertise to Pfizer and other key stakeholders, including physicians, key opinion leaders and regulatory and advisory committees. Craig previously worked for GlaxoSmithKline first as a scientist and later as Therapy Area Leader in Canada, where he led the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine project from pre-clinical to successful proof-of-concept in humans. He has also worked for the National Research Council, Institute of Biological Sciences, and the National Laboratory for Immunology.

Craig holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Ottawa and a BSC Hons Degree in Chemistry from Carleton University.

Executive Chairman of iosBio, Wayne Channon said: “We are delighted to welcome Craig to the iosBio team. His breadth of experience in leading vaccine programmes from design and manufacturing through to licensing will be critical as we undertake our next phase of growth.”

Chief Development Officer Dr. Craig Laferrière, commented: “I am thrilled to be joining iosBio, whose OraPro™ oral vaccine technology has the potential to transform the way the world makes and takes vaccines. Vaccines have saved tens of millions of lives, but there remain significant global challenges due to the current limitations of traditional vaccines. I look forward to working with the iosBio team to build the Company’s growing pipeline of innovative orally administered vaccines to address these challenges and provide safe and effective vaccines that will protect people from viruses in the future.”

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For further information please contact:

Consilium Strategic Communications
David Daley, Melissa Gardiner, Davide Salvi
IosBio@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About iosBio

iosBio is a UK based biotechnology company developing next generation vaccines that can be administered orally.

The Company’s proprietary OraPro™ thermal stabilization technology enables the oral administration of thermally stable, non-replicating viral vectors that can be delivered sublingually via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other routes. These vaccine vectors are engineered to withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees and the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy and providing long term product stability at ambient temperatures.

iosBio is developing vaccines designed to stimulate mucosal, systemic and T cell immune responses, providing robust immunity to a number of infectious diseases including COVID-19, influenza, Zika and Nipah.

iosBio is headquartered in Burgess Hill, UK. For more information visit: iosbio.com

Burgess Hill, UK, 6 April 2022 — iosBio (‘the Company’), a UK-based biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines that can be administered orally, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ben Warriner as Chief Financial Officer, effective 6 April 2022.

Ben is a highly experienced finance professional with more than a decade of international leadership experience working within the healthcare sector. He joins iosBio from Freeline Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing curative gene therapies for chronic systemic diseases. As VP of Finance, Ben successfully managed the company’s $159 million listing on NASDAQ in August 2020. He also served as Company Secretary, where he was responsible for day-to-day financial and administrative operations across the UK, US, Ireland and Germany.

Previously, Ben served in a number of senior financial roles at EUSA Pharma, a private equity backed global pharmaceutical company. During this time, he was responsible for the finance operations across the group, including working on a new product launch. Ben has previously worked for Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC, Vantis PLC, T-Mobile and Deloitte. He holds a BSC Hons Degree in Economics from Loughborough University.

Wayne Channon, Chairman of iosBio, said: “I am delighted to welcome Ben to the iosBio team. His broad knowledge and expertise across the healthcare and financial sector will be invaluable to iosBio as we continue to advance the Company’s pipeline of safe and effective oral vaccines for infectious diseases.”

Ben Warriner, Chief Financial Officer, commented: “iosBio has the potential to transform the way we make and take vaccines and I am thrilled to be joining the Company at such an exciting time. I look forward to supporting Wayne and the rest of the iosBio team to help drive the Company’s growth as it works to deliver the future of immunization.”

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For further information please contact:
Consilium Strategic Communications
David Daley, Melissa Gardiner, Davide Salvi
IosBio@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700

 

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About iosBio

iosBio is a UK based biotechnology company developing next generation vaccines that can be administered orally.

The Company’s proprietary OraPro™ thermal stabilization technology enables the oral administration of thermally stable, non-replicating viral vectors that can be delivered sublingually via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other routes. These vaccine vectors are engineered to withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees and the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy and providing long term product stability at ambient temperatures.

iosBio is developing vaccines designed to stimulate mucosal, systemic and T cell immune responses, providing robust immunity to a number of infectious diseases including COVID-19, influenza and Zika.

iosBio is headquartered in Burgess Hill, UK. For more information visit: iosbio.com

 

Zoonotic virus often cited as future pandemic threat and requiring urgent R&D action
iosBio’s oral vaccine technology offers potential breakthrough against current challenges of vaccine access globally

Burgess Hill, UK, 23 February 2022 — iosBio (‘the Company’), a UK-based biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines that can be administered orally, has been awarded a £288,000 grant from the Department of Health and Social Care’s UK Vaccine Network programme, delivered by Innovate UK, to support the development of an oral vaccine candidate against Nipah virus (NiV) using the Company’s proprietary OraPro™ thermal stabilization technology.

The award is one of 22 successful research projects from a new £10 million research competition funded by UK government, through UK Aid, to develop new vaccines and technologies to tackle diseases with epidemic potential in low- and middle-income countries to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of the global fight against future infectious disease outbreaks. Working with Innovate UK, this £10 million UK Vaccine Network competition is supporting clinical development of candidate vaccines, their manufacturing and delivery processes and technologies, for use in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

NiV infection is a zoonotic illness transmitted to people from animals, through contaminated food or directly from person-to-person. It rapidly attacks the respiratory and central nervous systems, with symptoms including fever, vomiting and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). The case fatality rate is between 40 and 75%[1].

First identified in Malaysia in 1998, outbreaks occur almost annually in parts of Asia, primarily Bangladesh and India, and while these have tended to be small NiV is often cited as a future pandemic threat and is one of the pathogens in the World Health Organization’s R&D Blueprint list of epidemic threats needing urgent R&D action[2]. Despite its notable pandemic potential, no safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics have been approved.

iosBio’s NiV oral vaccine candidate is being developed using a harmless, non-replicating adenovirus as the viral vector, genetically engineered to carry some of the genetic material from the pathogen. When administered, the viral vector vaccine would cause the body’s own cells to manufacture proteins from the NiV pathogen, provoking an immune response and stimulating production of antibodies and T cells. This means that when the body is exposed to the real pathogen, it already has the tools it needs to combat infection.

The Company’s proprietary OraPro™ platform technology engineers the vector to be thermally-stable, capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 50°C and allowing it to pass through the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy. This ability to withstand high temperatures also provides long-term product stability and the removal of refrigeration requirements during manufacturing, shipping and storage – a potential opportunity to break through the current challenges of vaccine access globally, particularly in LMICs where temperature control is challenging and expensive.

Executive Chairman of iosBio, Wayne Channon said: “We are proud that Innovate UK and the UK government have, through their thorough review process, chosen to invest in our oral vaccine research and recognise its potential against threats from emerging infectious diseases. While the world continues to battle COVID-19, new threats are still emerging, and we must prepare for the next pandemic. By developing safe and effective oral vaccines that can be administered without the need for complex cold chain storage, health professionals or vaccination centres, we would have the opportunity to prevent or halt local outbreaks, including in some of the hardest to reach areas, before they present a pandemic risk.”

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For further information please contact:
Consilium Strategic Communications
David Daley, Davide Salvi, Melissa Gardiner
IosBio@consilium-comms.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700

 

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About iosBio

iosBio is a UK based biotechnology company developing next generation vaccines that can be administered orally.

The Company’s proprietary OraPro™ thermal stabilization technology enables the oral administration of thermally stable, non-replicating viral vectors that can be delivered sublingually via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other routes. These vaccine vectors are engineered to withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees and the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy and providing long term product stability at ambient temperatures.

iosBio is developing vaccines designed to stimulate mucosal, systemic and T cell immune responses, providing robust immunity to a number of infectious diseases including COVID-19, influenza and Zika.

iosBio is headquartered in Burgess Hill, UK. For more information visit: iosbio.com

About the UK Vaccine Network

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the UK Government department which is responsible for helping people to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. This investment is part of the UK Vaccine Network (UKVN). UKVN was established to provide funding to support the development of promising vaccines and vaccine technologies that will help combat infectious diseases that have epidemic potential in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). UKVN is a £120m UK Aid investment, which means all projects funded must support research primarily and directly for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nipah-virus

[2] https://www.who.int/teams/blueprint/nipah

Oral vaccines and biotherapeutics company strengthens senior leadership team with new role to drive priority development programmes Burgess Hill, UK, 14 June 2021—iosBio (‘the Company’), a UK-based biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines that can be administered orally, today announces the appointment of Patricia Londono-Hayes, PhD, as Chief Development Officer.

With more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, Patricia is a leader in vaccines and biologics product development. She brings extensive experience in the progression of vaccine candidates from initial concept into first-in-human testing, advancement of clinical development and licensing.

In her role, Patricia will lead the development and execution of iosBio’s pipeline strategy, as the Company moves into its next stage of growth. In January 2021 iosBio signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement granting ImmunityBio rights to its OraPro™ vaccine platform technology for the oral delivery of ImmunityBio’s second-generation human Adeno (hAd5) COVID-19 vaccine candidate. iosBio’s second priority programme, OraPro-Flu – a thermally stable, orally-delivered, quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine – is currently in preclinical studies and expected to enter the clinic later this year.

Across her career, Patricia has directed global programmes, teams, and partnerships at scientific, strategic, and operational levels, contributing to the development and licensing of vaccines spanning a broad range of indications including influenza and a variety of respiratory, gastro-intestinal, genitourinary, and nosocomial infections.

Patricia joins iosBio from Sanofi Pasteur, where she held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Head of External R&D Initiatives and Scientific Affairs, Europe, where she led the strategy and implementation of external R&D public‐private partnerships and alliances. During her tenure, she spearheaded multi million Euro investments in R&D partnerships between the company and other vaccine manufacturers, leading academic institutions, the EU and the Gates Foundation. Prior to that, she was Head of Global Preclinical Research & Development Department and Leader of the Universal Influenza Vaccine Project at the company, overseeing, translational, preclinical, and clinical pharmacology research. Before joining Sanofi Pasteur, Patricia worked at vaccine company Acambis, where she founded and directed the Immunology Research Department and initiated research programs in oral vaccines.

She gained her PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology from Imperial College London and holds an MSc in Molecular Biology and Genetic Manipulation and a BSc in Microbiology from the University of Sussex and University of Los Andes, respectively.

Executive Chairman of iosBio, Wayne Channon said: “With her impressive track record in vaccine development, I am delighted to welcome Patricia to iosBio. Her breadth of experience in leading vaccines programmes from idea through to clinical development will be critical as we pursue our mission to lead the way in next generation, oral vaccines.”

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Patricia Londono-Hayes commented: “I am thrilled to be joining iosBio at such an exciting stage, with the Company’s OraPro™ vaccine platform technology being investigated in trials of what could be the first oral COVID-19 vaccine. iosBio’s science has the potential to truly transform vaccine development and to overcome the global challenges of traditional vaccines. I am delighted to be joining such an experienced and innovative team and look forward to working together on IosBio’s vision to bring orally administered, thermally stable vaccines to people around the world.”

Ends

For further information please contact:

Consilium Strategic Communications

Mary-Jane Elliott, Melissa Gardiner, David Daley

IosBio@consilium-comms.com

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About iosBio

iosBio is a UK based biotechnology company developing next generation vaccines that can be administered orally.

The Company’s proprietary OraPro™ thermal stabilization technology enables the oral administration of thermally stable, non-replicating viral vectors that can be delivered sublingually via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other routes. These vaccine vectors are engineered to withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees and the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy and providing long term product stability at ambient temperatures. iosBio is developing vaccines designed to stimulate mucosal, systemic and T cell immune responses, providing robust immunity to a number of infectious diseases including COVID-19, Zika and influenza.

In January 2021 iosBio announced an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with ImmunityBio, Inc. a US-based, privately held clinical-stage immunotherapy company, for iosBio’s OraPro™ vaccine platform technology currently being investigated in a Phase Ib trial of ImmunityBio’s secondgeneration human Adeno (hAd5) COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

iosBio is headquartered in Burgess Hill, UK. For more information visit: iosbio.com

Development Officer

 

iosBio signs exclusive worldwide licensing agreement granting ImmunityBio rights to OraPro™ oral vaccine platform technology for COVID-19

• iosBio licenses its OraPro^TM thermal stabilization technology to ImmunityBio for oral delivery of ImmunityBio’s second generation hAd5 vaccine candidate to protect against COVID-19 
• ImmunityBio’s oral T cell vaccine candidate could potentially address mutations in the spike (S) protein

Burgess Hill, UK, January 12, 2021—iosBio (‘the Company’),a UK-based biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines that can be administered orally, today announced an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with ImmunityBio, Inc. a US-based, privately-held clinical-stage immunotherapy company, for iosBio’s OraPro™ vaccine platform technology currently being investigated in trials of ImmunityBio’s second-generation human Adeno (hAd5) COVID-19 vaccine candidate. 

OraPro™ is iosBio’s patented oral delivery vaccine platform technology that enables oral administration of thermally-stable, viral vector vaccines. These vaccine vectors are engineered to withstand temperatures of up to 50°C, allowing them to pass through the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy and providing long-term product stability at ambient temperatures. Oral administration delivers the vaccine directly to mucosal associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), generating mucosal, systemic and T-cell immune responses. 

Under the terms of the licensing agreement, iosBio has granted ImmunityBio exclusive rights to utilize its OraPro™ platform technology for the oral delivery of ImmunityBio’s human Adeno (hAd5) COVID-19 vaccine candidate. 

iosBio will be eligible to receive royalties on net worldwide sales of the approved oral vaccine. 

In a BARDA-sponsored study of vaccinated non-human primates, subcutaneous and room temperature oral formulations of ImmunityBio’s vaccine candidate inhibited SARS-CoV-2 virus replication to undetectable levels and cleared infection within days in 100% of vaccinated animals (10 of 10). The vaccine candidate, which delivers both outer spike (S) and inner nucleocapsid (N) antigens, induced T cells and antibodies leading to reduction of SARS-CoV-2 viruses in both lungs and nasal passages within seven days. The oral capsule formulation of the vaccine candidate was effective at room temperature in the non-human primate study suggesting that it may not require the cold chain logistics that can impede global distribution.

Pending ImmunityBio’s discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the oral vaccine will enter Phase I trials as a prime and boost, and will be explored to provide a boost to subcutaneous vaccinations. Twenty participants have already completed testing in ImmunityBio’s Phase I trial at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, California, which evaluated both low and high doses of subcutaneous hAd5, with zero grade 3/4 adverse events reported.

Chairman of iosBio, Wayne Channon, said: “We are delighted to be able to support ImmunityBio with the oral delivery of its second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, through the licensing of our OraPro thermal stabilization technology. This technology is key to developing vaccines that can be administered orally without loss of efficacy and has the potential to truly transform vaccine development.

“Oral vaccines have the potential to overcome global challenges of traditional vaccines, many of which need to be stored and transported at freezing temperatures. Oral vaccines are more cost effective to produce and can be easily stored and transported around the world. They also have the potential to be self-administered, reducing health systems’ dependency on trained health professionals to run immunisation programmes and present a future where people could have vaccines delivered straight to their door.”

Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., Chairman and CEO of ImmunityBio, said: “As we see multiple mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, there is an urgent need for a vaccine that not only offers immediate protection but also activates T cells to clear the virus. When multiple mutations occur at the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, it renders antibodies ineffective. Our next-generation vaccine design drives both antibody and T cells to S and N protein, and so could potentially serve as a universal boost to current vaccines that focus only on the monovalent S protein, as well as address future mutations of the S protein. 

“It is also critical to develop a room-temperature, stable oral formulation of the vaccine, one that will provide mucosal immunity. We’re doing that with iosBio’s unique oral vaccine delivery platform technology that has the potential to transform the way people take vaccines and addresses the challenges of storage and global distribution of vaccines. In our BARDA-sponsored, non-human primate challenge study, administering the oral formulation as a boost achieved 100 percent viral protection against a challenge and induced both memory B cells and Th1-dominant T cells, which cleared the virus. We are now moving urgently through clinical development in the US and globally.”

Ends

For further information please contact:

Consilium Strategic Communications 

Mary-Jane Elliott, Melissa Gardiner, David Daley,

IosBio@consilium-comms.com

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700 

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About iosBio

iosBio is a UK based biotechnology company developing next generation vaccines that can be administered orally. 

The Company’s proprietary OraPro™ thermal stabilization technology enables the oral administration of thermally stable, non-replicating viral vectors that can be delivered sublingually via the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and other routes. These vaccine vectors are engineered to withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees, allowing them to pass through the hostile conditions in the stomach without loss of efficacy and providing long term product stability at ambient temperatures. 

iosBio is developing vaccines designed to stimulate mucosal, systemic and T cell immune responses, providing robust immunity to a number of infectious diseases including COVID-19, Zika and influenza.

iosBio is headquartered in Burgess Hill, UK. For more information visit: iosbio.com

About ImmunityBio 

ImmunityBio, Inc. is a late-clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing next-generation therapies that drive immunogenic mechanisms for defeating cancers and infectious diseases. The company’s immunotherapy platform activates both the innate (natural killer cell and macrophage) and adaptive (T cell) immune systems to create long-term “immunological memory.” This novel approach is designed to eliminate the need for high-dose chemotherapy, improve upon the outcomes of current CAR T-cell therapies, and extend beyond checkpoint inhibitors.

ImmunityBio’s platform is based on the foundation of three separate modalities: antibody cytokine fusion proteins, synthetic immunomodulators, and second-generation human adenovirus (hAd5) vaccine technologies.

Anktiva™ (ImmunityBio’s lead cytokine infusion protein) is a novel interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist complex and has received Breakthrough Therapy and Fast Track Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BCG-unresponsive CIS non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The company is also in Phase 2 or 3 trials for indications such as first- and second-line lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, metastatic pancreatic cancer, recurrent glioblastoma, and soft tissue sarcoma in combination with the company’s synthetic immune modulator (aldoxorubicin).

ImmunityBio is also developing therapies, including vaccines, for the prevention and treatment of HIV, influenza, and the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 with its second-generation human adenovirus (hAd5) vaccine technologies.

NantKwest Transaction

As previously announced, on December 21, 2020, ImmunityBio entered into an agreement to combine in a stock-for-stock transaction with NantKwest, Inc. (NASDAQ: NK). The combination, which is expected to close in the first half of 2021, would create a leading immunotherapy and cell therapy company focused on oncology and infectious disease.

LinkedIn

In an interview with @Bevan Shields at the @Sydney Morning Herald, our Chairman @Wayne Channon discussed the potential of oral vaccines to revolutionize the fight against infectious diseases like COVID-19, providing a more targeted immune response and overcoming the need for storage and transportation at freezing temperatures.

Read the full article: [Link]

#COVID19 #OralVaccines

Twitter

Great to be featured in the @smh, discussing how oral vaccines can revolutionize the fight against COVID-19, overcoming the need for cold chain storage and providing a more targeted immune response.

Read the full article: [LINK]

#COVID19 #OralVaccines