TIDMFIPP
Frontier IP Group plc
02 December 2022
Reach - a non-regulatory announcement
AIM: FIPP
02 December 2022
Frontier IP Group Plc
("Frontier IP" or the "Group")
Portfolio news - The Vaccine Group successfully completes
Anglo-Chinese Streptococcus suis vaccine project
Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual
property, is delighted to note the following announcement that
portfolio company The Vaccine Group ("TVG" or the "Company")
successfully completed an Anglo-Chinese project to develop a
vaccine against the most common types of Streptococcus suis (S
suis).
S suis is a bacterial disease that reduces pig farming
productivity. It is endemic in the global pig population, estimated
at 780 million strong, and, according to the Pork Information
Gateway, is the most common cause of systemic disease in nursery
piglets. It is also zoonotic and can jump from pigs to humans
causing meningitis, septicaemia and other symptoms.
The disease is currently treated with antibiotics, but there is
growing evidence the disease is becoming resistant. Effective
vaccines remove the need for antibiotics. Frontier IP holds a 17
per cent equity stake in the Company.
TVG developed nine vaccine constructs, two of which have been
screened, and one of those has demonstrated more than 75 per cent
efficacy in rabbits.
The project was a collaboration with two Chinese academic
institutions and a commercial partner, the Pulike Biological
Engineering Company. Pulike has begun preparation to make the
vaccine candidate at pilot scale to support further clinical
development.
TVG has funding in place to screen the seven remaining vaccine
constructs. TVG received a GBP403,000 grant as part of total
GBP1.46 million provided by the UK Department of Health and Social
Care (DHSC) through Innovate UK, and the Chinese Ministry of
Science and Technology.
Neil Crabb, Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are
very pleased with the progress made by TVG and its
herpesvirus-based vaccine technology - this project shows it has
the potential to combat bacteria as well as viruses. We are looking
forward to results of further developments of the Company's other
animal vaccine projects for Lassa fever, African Swine Fever, and
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, and a COVID-19
vaccine for use in humans."
The Vaccine Group statement begins:
TVG successfully completes Anglo-Chinese Streptococcus suis
vaccine project
TVG has completed a successful Anglo-Chinese project backed by
the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Innovate UK, and
the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to develop a
cross-protective candidate Streptococcus suis (S suis) vaccine
against the most prevalent serotypes 2, 7 and 9.
S suis is a major bacterial disease that reduces productivity in
pig farming worldwide. There is currently no effective preventative
vaccine. It is also zoonotic and can cause meningitis, septicaemia
and other symptoms in humans. The disease is currently treated with
antibiotics, but there is growing evidence that it is becoming
resistant. Effective vaccines remove the need for antibiotics.
The project started in April 2019 with the twin objectives of
developing a candidate vaccine for S suis in domesticated pigs and
to further develop the TVG platform viral vaccine vector
technology. In total, nine candidate vaccine constructs were made ,
targeting immunogenic proteins that are highly conserved across key
serotypes.
All nine have been shown to be stable in tissue culture, grow to
commercially viable titres and express the selected target proteins
at high levels. Two candidates have been screened in a laboratory
rabbit challenge model of S suis, one of the candidates
demonstrating >75% efficacy and strong serological
responses.
The project was conducted in collaboration with two Chinese
academic laboratories, the Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute
at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, and the Shanghai
Jio Tong University. A major producer of swine and poultry
vaccines, the Pulike Biological Engineering Company was the
commercial partner. Pulike has already transferred production of
the candidate vaccine to suspension cell culture at pilot scale in
preparation for vaccine batch production for clinical
development.
The three Chinese partners are funded to complete screening of
the other seven S suis vaccine candidates before the end of 2022,
with the lead candidates passing into controlled challenge studies
in pigs in early 2023. It is expected that widespread global uptake
of a successfully developed broad-spectrum S suis vaccine would
lead to the reduction of antibiotic use in commercial pig farming
and contribute to a reduced risk of Anti-Microbial Resistance
development.
TVG received a GBP403,000 grant as its share of the project
funding. It was awarded as part of a bilateral research competition
between the DHSC's Global antimicrobial resistance Innovation Fund
and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. UK-China
partnerships against antimicrobial resistance get funding
Phil Packer, Innovation Lead, Innovate UK, said: "The Vaccine
Group (TVG), a biotech start up company based in Plymouth, and the
University of Plymouth (UoP) have recently completed an IUK-funded
project to develop a Streptococcus suis vaccine candidate for use
in commercial pig herds. The project was conducted in collaboration
with three Chinese partner organisations who were funded through
the Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology. The successful
output from the project is a lead candidate vaccine which has been
shown to induce protection in a rabbit model of the disease.
Further committed funding will test the candidate for safety and
efficacy in pigs in early 2023. The commercial partner in China is
currently scaling up production of the candidate vaccine with a
view to beginning registration studies later in 2023. IUK would
like to congratulate TVG and UoP on the successful completion of
this project and the establishment of a highly productive working
relationship with the three Chinese partner organisations."
Jeremy Salt, TVG Chief Executive Officer, said: "Great strides
have been made towards providing a vaccine solution for a
significant pig disease during this project. The flexibility of
TVG's bovine herpesvirus technology platform has been fully
utilised to deliver enhanced efficacy."
The Vaccine Group statement ends
ENQUIRIES
Frontier IP Group Plc T: 020 7332 2338
Neil Crabb, Chief Executive Officer neil@frontierip.co.uk
Andrew Johnson, Communications and investor M: 07464 546 025
relations
andrew.johnson@frontierip.co.uk
Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk
The Vaccine Group
Jeremy Salt, Chief Executive Officer jeremy.salt@thevaccinegroup.com
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) T: 0203 328 5656
Nick Athanas / George Payne
ABOUT THE VACCINE GROUP
The Vaccine Group, a spin out from the University of Plymouth,
is developing vaccines based on benign forms of herpesviruses.
These are a group of viruses found in all animals, including
humans.
The Company is targeting two main areas: zoonotic diseases,
which jump from animals to humans, and economically damaging
diseases in livestock. The COVID-19 vaccine is the first of the
company's vaccines being developed for humans.
The Company and its international partners have so far been
backed by more than GBP9 million in grant funding from the US, UK
and Chinese governments. The US government is funding development
of Ebola and Lassa fever virus vaccines. The company has also
signed its first commercial agreement to develop vaccines for
Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Virus Syndrome with ECO Animal
Health Group plc.
Other projects underway include developing a vaccine against
Streptococcus suis, a disease in pigs which can be fatal in humans
and can only currently be treated with large doses of
antibiotics.
For more information: www.thevaccinegroup.com
ABOUT FRONTIER IP
Frontier IP unites science and commerce by identifying strong
intellectual property and accelerating its development through a
range of commercialisation services. A critical part of the Group's
work is involving relevant industry partners at an early stage of
development to ensure technology meets real world demands and
needs.
The Group looks to build and grow a portfolio of equity stakes
and licence income by taking an active involvement in spin-out
companies, including support for fund raising and collaboration
with relevant industry partners at an early stage of
development.
About Reach announcements
This is a Reach announcement. Reach is an investor communication
service aimed at assisting listed and unlisted (including AIM
quoted) companies to distribute media only / non-regulatory news
releases into the public domain. Information required to be
notified under the AIM Rules for Companies, Market Abuse Regulation
or other regulation would be disseminated as an RNS regulatory
announcement and not on Reach.
This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press
release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock
Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Reach is a non-regulatory news service. By using this service an
issuer is confirming that the information contained within this
announcement is of a non-regulatory nature. Reach announcements are
identified with an orange label and the word "Reach" in the source
column of the News Explorer pages of London Stock Exchange's
website so that they are distinguished from the RNS UK regulatory
service. Other vendors subscribing for Reach press releases may use
a different method to distinguish Reach announcements from UK
regulatory news.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
NRATBBRTMTBMBAT
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 02, 2022 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Frontier Ip (LSE:FIPP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Frontier Ip (LSE:FIPP)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024