APC partners with biotechnology firm Vaxine to accelerate the development and delivery of new COVID-19 vaccine candidate

APC, the award-winning Irish research and development company that partners with the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry to accelerate the development and launch of quality, life-changing medicines to patients, has announced a partnership with Vaxine Pty Ltd, an Australian biotechnology company, to accelerate the development and launch of a vaccine candidate against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19).

Established in 2011 by Dr Mark Barrett (CEO) and Professor Brian Glennon (CTO), APC utilises its proprietary state-of-the-art technology platforms and globally recognised research team to expedite how drug manufacturing processes are researched and developed. In addition to the Covid-19 vaccine candidate, APC is currently working on 20+ medicines for a variety of cancers, respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and HIV at its 60,000 sq. ft. HQ in Dublin.

APC currently employs a team of 130 people, the majority of which are chemical engineers, process and biopharmaceutical scientists. The company is one of the largest employers in Ireland of scientists and PhD qualified chemical engineers.

Commenting on this new partnership, APC Chief Executive Officer Dr Mark Barrett said: “Never before has the combination of novel vaccine and processing sciences been so important to the world. ‘Time-to-patient’ needs considerable disruption, with both clinical and CMC manufacturing science needing to be challenged.

“Today through this strategic partnership APC and Vaxine signify our collective intent to combine the latest innovation in COVID-19 vaccine technology, and processing sciences, BioACHIEVE, to accelerate the development and launch of Vaxine’s novel COVAX-19™ vaccine.

“Vaxine and APC share a cultural commitment to innovation, dynamism, and a focus on reducing disease burden through innovative science and development. It is an honour and a privilege for APC to be part of the world’s focus on solving this ‘time-to-patient’ for a COVID-19 vaccine. Through collaboration and partnership, I am confident APC can play a leading role in dramatically accelerating the timeframe for Vaxine’s COVAX-19 vaccine to be made globally available.”

Vaxine has a stellar track record in developing novel vaccines for pandemic influenza, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, RSV, Ebola, and HIV, amongst many others. Vaxine’s Chairman and Research Director Nikolai Petrovsky commented:

“APC brings outstanding process development and manufacturing science capabilities through their BioACHIEVE platforms and best-in-class team of scientist and engineers, making them an ideal partner to enable our COVAX-19 to be accelerated to patients and to the market. Vaxine’s novel technology which combines recombinant proteins with an innovative Advax-SM adjuvant, which acts as an immune turbocharger, ensures a highly potent and durable protective immune response against COVID-19.”

Professor Petrovsky commented further: “Following the completion of clinical trials, which are currently being initiated, Vaxine wishes to make its COVAX-19 vaccine available to as many countries of the world as possible. There is an extraordinary unmet demand for effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines. By partnering with professional process development companies such as APC, who can assist with large scale process and technology design, optimisation and technology transfer, will assist us in meeting such demand.”