Vivaldi Biosciences Receives Grant to Study its Universal Flu Vaccine’s Ability to Block Virus Transmission
FORT COLLINS, Colorado and VIENNA, Austria – Vivaldi Biosciences today announced it has received a grant from Flu Lab to evaluate the potential of its DeltaFLU universal influenza vaccine, administered by nasal spray, to block influenza virus transmission and spread of infection and disease. Vivaldi Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing vaccines for viral respiratory diseases. Flu Lab, based in Palo Alto, CA, is a philanthropic organization founded to fuel bold approaches to defeat influenza. A vaccine that both protects against all influenza strains and blocks or reduces transmission would be a significant advance in preventing influenza and reducing the disease burden.
The transmission study builds on successful clinical trials of DeltaFLU vaccine strains, and preclinical studies showing the potential for DeltaFLU to provide protection against all influenza virus strains causing disease in humans. Vivaldi Biosciences plans to begin the transmission study in early 2024. The study will include evaluations of immune response and protection of DeltaFLU-immunized ferrets against infection by broadly divergent wild-type influenza type A and B strains transmitted by experimentally infected ferrets. The ferret is the most well-characterized and relevant animal model of human influenza infection and immune response.
Influenza is a contagious respiratory disease and a serious public health problem. Influenza viruses are transmitted between individuals by tiny droplets that enter the nose, mouth or lungs, where they replicate and cause disease. Each year, influenza infects as many as 30% of children and 10% of adults worldwide, and results in as many as 500,000 deaths. Vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza, but conventional vaccines provide only modest protection. Available vaccines are designed to protect against just three or four selected influenza virus strains and do not prevent transmission of influenza viruses from person to person.
Vivaldi Biosciences’ DeltaFLU provides important advantages of needle-free administration and rapid protection in the nasal passages, where it generates a first line of defense at the point of entry of circulating flu viruses. DeltaFLU also activates T cells and antibody-producing B cells for a broadly protective systemic immune response. Vivaldi has secured funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the European Union to conduct clinical trials to demonstrate universal protection with DeltaFLU in adult volunteers.
About Vivaldi Biosciences
Vivaldi Biosciences develops genetically engineered nasal spray vaccines for epidemic and pandemic viral respiratory diseases. The company’s patented technology centers on eliminating the influenza NS1 gene to generate self-adjuvanting vaccines. Vivaldi Biosciences’ Vero cell-based vaccine manufacturing system uses patented advances in production and purification for high yields and reduced costs. Data from completed Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of DeltaFLU vaccine strains demonstrate safety and broadly cross-neutralizing antibodies in the serum and nasal mucosa. Studies in animal models provide proof of concept for protection against all influenza virus strain types causing disease in humans, including emerging strains with pandemic potential. Vivaldi Biosciences has received grants for further clinical studies of DeltaFLU universal influenza vaccine from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs) and the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101080692. Vivaldi Biosciences is a venture-backed company with operations at the Research Innovation Center at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, and in Vienna, Austria. NGN Capital LLC is the company’s lead investor. Learn more at www.vivaldibiosciences.com. Connect with Vivaldi Biosciences on Linkedin.
Contact
Bill Wick, CEO, Vivaldi Biosciences
Tel: +1 650-400-8915
bill.wick@vivaldibiosciences.com