As we get closer to the World Vaccine Congress in Washington our introductions to the start-up zone continue! This time we are pleased to present the final round of start-ups that have signed up so far: the Vs of the start-up zone. 

If you are interested in joining your colleagues here, please make an application or contact isabella.aung@terrapinn.com for more details.     

If your application is successful, you will receive the following benefits:      

  • 1m wall space in the Start-up Zone      
  • 2 passes to the conference and exhibition      
  • Branding and marketing materials      
  • Access to our networking portal      

Further details can be found on the Congress website; don’t delay as spaces are limited!  

Who is already in the zone? 
VacTrack 

VacTrack’s mission is to improve population health through digital health innovation. They aim to improve vaccination access, adherence and advance data driven research into vaccine-preventable diseases. The archaic reliance on paper-based vaccination logs is a global issue and requires a digital solution.  

VacTrack have created an end-to-end vaccination solution for patients and clinicians, with an integrated booking and management platform alongside personalised recommendations for childhood immunisations as well as travel. VacTrack will help improve uptake and adherence of vaccinations in a world where hesitancy and access are key obstacles. VacTrack boasts an elegant solution to these problems by eliminating these aforementioned barriers, transforming adherence rates, and seamlessly providing a centralised, user-friendly solution. 

VaxSyna 

VaxSyna, Inc. is a pre-clinical vaccine R&D company developing an antibody-based vaccine platform. Their vaccine platform can be utilised to create both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines and is  

  1. up to 50% cheaper to manufacture compared to other vaccines, 
  2. stable at room temperature in preliminary studies,  
  3. generates a protective immune response in 1-2 doses without the use of expensive adjuvants  
  4. effective in multiple pre-clinical trials against various diseases.  

VaxSyna’s two primary vaccine candidates are against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). 

Verndari 

Verndari is a preclinical start-up based in Northern California, focused on advancing a painless skin vaccination platform, VaxiPatch™, designed from the ground up for low-cost, high-speed automated manufacturing.   

They harness the power of intradermal delivery to achieve dramatic dose-sparing and achieve superior immune responses with a platform which is exquisitely thermostable and amenable to self-administration.  Their approach has been demonstrated in two proof-of-concept studies published in Vaccine, the most recent of which appeared in the January 2023 issue.   

Their photochemically-etched stainless steel arrays leverage key advantages of solid-coated and dissolvable microneedle platforms, allowing precision dosing with no appreciable skin reactogenicity. They successfully executed a $1MM cost-sharing contract from BARDA DRIVe to develop their technology and are currently targeting a Series A raise to achieve clinical validation in a first-in-man Phase I trial. 

ViQi 

ViQi is modernising image processing technology and expediting science discovery through the creation of AI-based assay development systems. Their technology not only generates better results and reduces employee oversight during testing, but their cloud-based platform allows them to scale quickly and interact with over 150 types of large-scale image formats.  

The ViQi leadership team is composed of life science and business leaders with backgrounds in computer-vision, database, large-scale informatics, AI/ML, and image-processing, but their real strength is how they work collaboratively and welcome diverse backgrounds and thoughts. This working environment ensures that they solve real pain points, modernising and transforming the image analysis industry. 

Virongy Biosciences 

Virongy Biosciences is an early-stage, virus-technology development company. Virongy was founded by Dr. Yuntao Wu, an internationally recognized virologist, and together with its CEO,  Dr. Brian Hetrick, the company has built a team with over 60 years of virology experience.   

Virongy’s mission is to accelerate discovery through innovative virological solutions with elegantly simple workflows. Their flagship technology, the hybrid alpha-pseudovirus, is a versatile nanoparticle platform for both vaccine and diagnostic use against high-risk viral pathogens.  

Virongy is bringing a core set of unique technologies to the gene therapy and vaccine industries. They are driven to foster and recruit talent in their region, and they are honoured to be recognized by the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP) for a continued push to build a strong biotech industry in the DMV area.