Mucosal and systemic immunity


The mucosal immune system is the largest component of the entire immune system, providing protection at the main sites of infectious threat. Vaccines offer the best protection against respiratory infections like coronaviruses, which initially infect the upper respiratory tract, when they engage both mucosal and systemic immune responses. 

The primary effect of intramuscular vaccines delivered by needle is to induce only systemic immunity. iosBio’s thermally stable oral vaccine platform targets mucosal surfaces, such as the epithelial cells in the gastrointestinal tract or under the tongue, generating both mucosal and systemic immune responses.

  • Gastrointestinal administration does not induce anti-vector immunity, enabling booster doses using the same viral vector.
  • The gastrointestinal tract has a total surface area of around 250 m², meaning huge potential for antigen production in comparison with the intramuscular bolus of an injection.
  • Secretory Immunoglobulin A (IgA) provides protection at mucosal surfaces against pathogens, including intracellular neutralization of viruses.
  • The presentation of antigens via the dendritic cells resident in Peyer’s patches induces IgA class switching and mucosal homing immune responses.

Delivery

The OraPro platform enables administration in the following ways:


OraPro Capsule

For the OraPro Capsule, the powder is encased in a capsule with an enteric coating that prevents it being dissolved by the acid in the stomach. When the capsule moves into the small intestine, the pH changes from acid to alkali and the enteric coating dissolves, releasing the viral vector to the mucosal cells of the GI tract.



Advantages of this route of administration

An oral vaccine is delivered via the same route of entry as the virus, guaranteeing the vaccine cargo is delivered directly to the target location, where it generates both a mucosal and systemic immune response.



FASTER

No need to schedule appointments or wait for availability at healthcare clinics – all oral vaccine doses could simply be posted directly to the patient’s door for immediate self-administration.

SAFER

No need for the patient to come into contact with healthcare staff or other patients in order to get vaccinated, reducing the spread of the virus. The elderly and disabled are spared the potential challenges of travelling to a clinic.

CHEAPER

With no need for clinics and healthcare professionals to administer the vaccines, and no cold chain requirements resulting in simpler modes of storage and distribution the cost savings are significant.

TARGETED IMMUNITY

OraPro is delivered to the body via the same route as an infection, ensuring that the vaccine cargo goes directly to the target cells where it generates both a mucosal and systemic immune response.

What are viral vectors?


MORE INFORMATION

Pipeline


MORE INFORMATION

Follow us

Keep up to date with our news and find out more about investment opportunities with iosBio.

The team of doctors and scientists at iosBio believe that the next great leap forward in immunization will be oral delivery


Enabling the fastest and most cost-effective deployment of vaccines the world has ever seen. This is not just a huge leap forward from a humanitarian perspective, oral vaccine technology also represents a significant commercial opportunity.

Contact us on info@iosbio.com / 01444 241911 or fill out the form below.

    We will not, in any circumstances share your personal information with other individuals or organizations without your permission.

    As the coronavirus pandemic rages on around the world, scientists are working day and night to create safe and effective vaccines that will allow life to return to normal. Although great leaps forward have been made, we are already seeing the supply chain and logistical problems of injectable vaccines that require cold or ultra cold chain storage. And as further mutations of the virus continue to emerge, the ability to tweak and readminister vaccines becomes ever more crucial.

    iosBio has partnered with US pharmaceutical company ImmunityBio to create OraPro-Covid-19, deploying our ground-breaking oral vaccine delivery platform with the aim of creating a Covid-19 vaccine that can be sent by post and swallowed at home.

    close

    The global seasonal influenza market is forecast to be worth $4.3bn by 2025. This figure is unsurprising considering the enormous economic costs of flu each year.

    On average, the total estimated annual economic burden of influenza to the US healthcare system and society is $11.2 billion, comprising $3.2 billion in direct medical costs and $8 billion in indirect costs. The CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that every person from the age of six months onwards has a flu vaccine, but actual vaccination coverage hovers around 50%

    In the UK, six million working days are lost to seasonal influenza in an average winter, yet uptake amongst the under-65s has been steadily declining in recent years. Many cite difficulties with getting an appointment at their GP’s surgery, where the vast majority of flu jabs are still administered.

    close

    Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by mosquitoes, as well as through sexual contact and from mother to fetus during pregnancy. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations, and is also associated with other complications including preterm birth and miscarriage. An increased risk of neurologic complications is associated with Zika virus infection in adults and children, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis.

    From the 1960s to 1980s, rare sporadic cases of human infections were found across Africa and Asia, typically accompanied by mild illness. The first recorded outbreak of Zika virus disease was reported from the Island of Yap in Micronesia in 2007. This was followed by a large outbreak of Zika virus infection in French Polynesia in 2013 and other countries and territories in the Pacific. In March 2015, Brazil reported a large outbreak of rash illness, soon identified as Zika virus infection, and later that year confirmed to be associated with microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

    close