COVID-19 vaccine developer wins licensing deal for temperature-stable oral capsule tech

UK-based biotechnology iosBio, which is developing next-generation vaccines that can be administered orally, has entered an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with US immunotherapy firm ImmunityBio, 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.