Biotech company ReiThera is collaborating with contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Exothera on a project to develop Covid-19 and HIV vaccines for low-and middle-income countries (LMIC).
The collaboration will see the companies develop and deliver new low-cost vaccines based on ReiThera’s GRAd technology platform for LMICs in Africa.
Exothera will scale-up the manufacturing process using its NevoLine Upstream platform developed by its sister company Univercells Technologies. This biomanufacturing technology has a highly compact footprint while delivering cost-effective vaccine production.
Under the terms of the agreement, Exothera will scale up the proprietary cell line into the NevoLine and infect them with GRAd vector to create the bulk vaccine product, which ReiThera will then purify. The viral bulk generated after the infection will be purified by a high performing process developed by ReiThera.
ReiThera will start with its GRAd vector currently used in its Covid-19 vaccine candidate (GRAd-COV2) for the initial process development set-up and transition it into final form for further clinical trial purposes in its state-of-the-art GMP manufacturing facility.
Official comments
Stefano Colloca, ReiThera’s Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, said: “This collaboration with Exothera is an important step in providing ReiThera’s novel vaccines for further study in a range of serious diseases, and in particular for seeking a solution that makes these vaccines more readily available once approved to people in LMIC regions. This second Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, following an initial grant to ReiThera in November 2021 to support the development of the GRAd platform, provides further validation of ReiThera’s innovative technology and underscores our technical expertise in clinical manufacturing and bio-risk management.”
“ReiThera’s innovative GRAd platform technology paired with Exothera’s process development and scaling-up know-how has the potential to make important vaccines available for all,” said José Castillo, Exothera’s Chairman. “Combining our process know-how with Univercells Technologies’ Nevoline will provide Low- and Middle-Income countries with access to much needed solutions for unmet medical needs such as HIV as well as against the current global pandemic.”
