In February 2024 Ginkgo Bioworks announced that it has been awarded a 5-year contract with SaponiQx from the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Joint Science and Technology (JSTO) for the Chemical and Biological Defence (CBD) Programme. The award is worth $31 million and will go towards the discovery and development of next-generation vaccine adjuvants. The companies have partnered in discovery and development since 2021 and plan to use a combination of “high throughput empirical and artificial intelligence/machine learning approaches”, which will include Generative Molecular Design (GMD) to develop “superior novel saponin-based adjuvants”.
A need for adjuvants
Gingko identifies a need for adjuvants to increase the “handful” that are available for human use in licensed vaccines.
“Novel adjuvants with enhanced properties, including tailored humoral and cellular immune responses, could pave the way for a new wave of innovative vaccines against existing and emerging pathogens.”
Gingko is to develop a first-generation Adjuvant Development Candidate (ADC) production method through a heterologous production strain like brewers’ yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
“Our platform powers iterative Design-Build-Test-Learn-driven cell engineering to enable the rapid prototyping, optimisation, and development of proteins, enzymes, metabolic pathways, and whole organisms under commercial-scale manufacturing conditions.”
Jennifer Wipf, SVP, Head of Commercial Cell Engineering at Gingko, commented on the need for “safe, effective, and accessible” vaccines that was emphasised during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Imagine a future where vaccines are not only more affordable but also provide consistent protection in fewer doses, without causing discomfort or requiring refrigeration. We’re very excited by this opportunity to strengthen and expand the SaponiQx-Gingko partnership and to work with DTRA to make that future a reality.”
STIMULON QS-21
SaponiQx’s STIMULON QS-21 is a “key adjuvant component” in “market-leading” vaccines for threats such as shingles, malaria, and RSV. SaponiQx states that it uses a method that “doesn’t rely on trees”.
“This innovation is designed to ensure a stable supply chain, uniform quality, scalable manufacturing, and reduced cost of goods.”
SaponiQx’s Head of Operations is Rebecca Kurnat, who hopes that the project will enable the team to “demonstrate in the laboratory and in animal studies the ability of these novel adjuvants to protect against challenges from biothreat agents” and to “provide lower cost, sustainable, and scalable manufacturing processes”.
By “harnessing a first-of-its-kind ‘data lake’ for adjuvants”, the partnership plans to use iterative GMD to “propose and optimise adjuvant structures” against eight functional parameters.
“Building on our achievements with STIMULON QS-21, SaponiQx is excited to realise our company’s founding vision of harnessing the potential of Generative Molecular Design to dramatically increase access to lifesaving vaccines around the world.”
We have a workshop dedicated to Vaccine Technologies at the Congress in Washington this April, during which the importance of adjuvants and ways to exploit them will be discussed; do join us there by getting your tickets here or subscribe for more vaccine technology insights!
