POP Biotechnologies Inc. (POP BIO) has been awarded a $2.84 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to further the development of SNAP-Flu, a novel vaccine approach targeting seasonal influenza. The funding, provided under award number 1R44AI181479-01, will support preclinical studies to evaluate the vaccine's efficacy and safety.
Addressing Influenza Vaccine Limitations
Influenza remains a significant global health concern, causing substantial morbidity and mortality. Current influenza vaccines often provide suboptimal protection due to the virus's high mutation rate and the limited breadth of immune responses elicited. POP BIO's SNAP technology aims to address these limitations by creating a multivalent vaccine capable of inducing broader and more durable immunity.
SNAP-Flu Vaccine Design
The SNAP-Flu vaccine utilizes POP BIO's proprietary Spontaneous Nanoliposome Antigen Particleization (SNAP) platform. This platform involves fabricating lipid bilayer nanoliposomes containing a cobalt-porphyrin moiety (CoPoP), a TLR4-based vaccine adjuvant (monophosphoryl lipid A), and saponin QS-21. The CoPoP enables spontaneous nanoliposome adjuvant particle formation. The SNAP liposomes are combined with his-tagged recombinant trimeric hemagglutinin (HA) and tetrameric neuraminidase (NA) proteins from multiple influenza strains, forming a mosaic nanoparticle vaccine candidate.
Preclinical Evaluation and Antigen Sparing
POP BIO has demonstrated that HA and NA antigens protect mice from lethal challenge with H1N1, H3N2, and B strain influenza viruses. The multivalent SNAP-Flu vaccine has shown even greater protection in preclinical models. Furthermore, the SNAP platform allows for antigen sparing, potentially reducing vaccine manufacturing costs and increasing vaccine availability. The study will involve POP BIO producing and characterizing SNAP-Flu. POP BIO will collaborate with the University at Buffalo, BIOQUAL, and Texas Biomedical Research Institute to assess the level of protection of SNAP-Flu against challenge with mouse-adapted strains of influenza in mice, human influenza strains in ferrets, and human influenza strains in non-human primates. The amount of antigen-sparing will be determined as will head-to-head comparison with other commercially available influenza vaccine formulations.
Future Directions
This Direct to Phase 2 SBIR award will be used to expand development of this platform to novel influenza antigen designs in preparation for clinical translation and testing. POP BIO's SNAP technology has already undergone human validation, with Phase 3 clinical trials completed for COVID-19 and ongoing Phase 1 clinical studies in RSV and HZV.
