Q-Vant Biosciences Inc., a biosciences company specialized in manufacturing and formulating open-access saponin-based adjuvants from sustainable sources announced that it has entered a research collaboration with Tulane University to develop a novel and innovative oral vaccine adjuvant. The new approach will combine two different immune-boosting compounds, or adjuvants, developed by Tulane and Q-Vant to create an oral mucosal adjuvant for oral vaccines that can be delivered via a pill or dissolved beneath the tongue, eliminating the need for injections.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a contract up to $9.2 million over the next five years to Tulane to collaborate with Q-Vant to develop a promising new platform for oral vaccines. The project will also involve support from global health nonprofit PATH, who will be working on methods to combine SDA formulations in a pill form or a dissolvable tablet.

“As we’ve seen with the polio vaccine, a needle-free vaccine can be vastly superior in enhancing mucosal immunity in the intestinal tract and could be a game changer for many diseases by targeting the gastrointestinal tissue or the site of infection,” said principal investigator Elizabeth Norton, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine.

“What is fascinating about the combination is that it seems to make dmLT work even better,” Norton said. “QS-Oral creates a vesicle structure that helps to deliver dmLT and the target antigen to the areas of the gastrointestinal tract where the immune system is active, resulting in a stronger immune response. This seems to avoid the problems of enzymes in saliva or the highly acidic stomach environment destroying the vaccine.”

Q-Vant Biosciences prioritizes research into formulated adjuvants for vaccines and novel vaccine platforms. Last year, Q-Vant introduced QS-21 from sustainable and scalable source, powered by the Q-SAP technology that enables QS-21 from any source of Quillaja and secured the supply from proprietary plantations.

With this award, Q-Vant will work collaboratively with Tulane University to progress in formulations with Tulane’s dmLT adjuvant and Q-Vant’s oral saponin adjuvant, QS-Oral™, sustainably sourced from from Quillaja saponaria biomass, stimulating an immune response using animal models for polio vaccines to help with eradication of polio efforts. An additional partnership with Henry Jackson Foundation Inc. and the Navy Medical Research Command will also allow testing of this platform against major bacterial causes of diarrheal disease in children, soldiers, and travelers, by targeting Enterotoxigenic E. coli and Campylobacter. Following this, the project will advance to more detailed studies to produce the combination adjuvant, called SDA, for use in people, test its stability over time, and ensure its safety, which are crucial steps for gaining regulatory approval for clinical trials.