With the Congress in Washington just around the corner, VaccineNation is gearing up and getting ready to return to the US to meet our wonderful attendees. Among them are two organisations who met during the event last year, whose story caught our attention. CastleVax and Jurata Thin Film joined us in the start-up zone for our 2023 Congress and, after discovering shared interests and goals, have formed a successful partnership.
We are thrilled that Dr Michael Egan and Ms. Megan Livingston were able to share their perspectives, and hope you enjoy learning more about their work!
Introducing: CastleVax and Jurata
Dr Michael Egan is the CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of CastleVax, with “more than 30 years” of experience in the vaccine research and development space. His team has a state-of-the-art platform for developing first-in-class vaccines to “enable rapid development of safe and highly immunogenic viral vectors” that can be easily delivered and stored.
Ms. Megan Livingston is Vice President, Business Development for Jurata Thin Film, having joined as “the first employee” in September 2020! Jurata’s thin film technology “enables the long-term storage of vaccines and biologics at ambient or elevated temperatures”. She is responsible for the business strategy development, client and partner recruitment, investor relations, and corporate growth.
Start-up neighbours
When we asked about how they met, Michael explains that they “happened to be neighbours” in the start-up zone.
“After speaking briefly and learning what each other’s companies were focused on, we realised that we had very complementary approaches.”
Megan echoes that there was a “clear alignment in our intents and interests”. Furthermore, Megan was able to introduce Michael to Rachel Rath, Director of the BARDA Alliance for Johnson & Johnson Innovation, who leads BLUE KNIGHT™. BLUE KNIGHT™ is a “joint initiative” between Johnson and Johnson Innovation (JLABS) and the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). It is dedicated to “anticipating potential health security threats, activating the global innovation community, and amplifying scientific and technological advancements”.
“Obvious” potential for a partnership
Many of our attendees at the events encounter tens, if not hundreds, of new organisations or people, so how did Michael and Megan establish that this relationship had potential? Michael reflects on how Jurata’s technology was an “obvious area for collaboration” to “reduce our vaccine platform’s cold chain requirement”.
“Jurata’s thin film technology immobilizes vaccines into a pliable film matrix without lyophilisation, preserving biological efficacy at ambient temperature and facilitating the distribution and delivery of thermostable vaccines to people around the world.”
Megan describes CastleVax’s platform as a “very new and interesting viral vector platform”, agreeing that “collaboration seemed obvious”. Megan also had experience with BLUE KNIGHT™ that was to become useful for CastleVax.
BLUE KNIGHT™
Megan explains how, when BLUE KNIGHT™ announced the QuickFire Challenge: Accelerating Project NextGen at its 2023 Symposium, she and Michael spoke about applying to fund the collaboration they had in mind.
“CastleVax’s live-attenuated next-generation booster vaccine against COVID-19 is the ideal candidate to show Jurata’s formulation’s ability to stabilise and deliver a vaccine without needles.”
Michael states that their project was awarded $1 million for the development of a “next generation vaccine against newer variants of COVID-19, inducing mucosal immunity through needle-free administration”.
How is the project progressing?
Already, the partnership has developed several formulations to stabilise CastleVax’s live-attenuated COVID-19 vaccine.
“The on-going collaboration will show that the room temperature thin film stabilised vaccine retains the potency and performance in animals relative to the original deep-freeze vaccine product.”
Next steps
Megan and Michael are “confident” that they will find the right formulation to “reduce, if not remove the cold chain requirements” soon, which means preclinical studies can begin to assess if Jurata’s formulation supports mucosal immunity after administration via intranasal or sublingual routes. They will also submit for funding through Project NextGen to “continue the clinical development” of CastleVax’s reformulated vaccine.
“The intention is to continue this collaboration and show that a thermostable vaccine can induce mucosal immunity, providing protection against new strains of COVID-19, as well as other respiratory infectious diseases.”
Be friendly and patient
Our final question for Michael and Megan invited them to share any advice that they might have for organisations, particularly start-ups, who are looking to create powerful partnerships. Michael kindly recommends participation in the start-up zone, which we naturally encourage!
“Be friendly to your neighbours. Participate in the WVC start-up zone. Talk to everyone who will listen. You never know where the next great connection will come from.”
Megan also highlights that “conferences have been our most successful way to meet like-minded partners”.
“A powerful partnership is equally beneficial to all parties involved.”
While partnerships are exciting, Megan also reflects that “a partnership needs a well-timed opportunity to be successful”.
“Be patient because the perfect opportunity could be imminently available, like ours was with CastleVax, or it could take years.”
It was a privilege to get these insights from Michael and Megan, and we hope to learn more about their progress at the event this year! If you’re interested in participating in the start-up zone, click here to learn more or email isabella.aung@terrapinn.com to introduce yourself. For more information on BLUE KNIGHT™ or to secure your place at the 2024 BLUE KNIGHT™ Symposium in June, click here! Finally, if you’re looking to connect with vaccine movers and shakers in Washington this April, do get your tickets here and don’t forget to subscribe for more vaccine stories.
