LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Specialist pharmaceutical company N4 Pharma updated the market on the latest key research findings for its 'Nuvec' delivery system on Monday, reporting that the Nuvec particles had a "clear adjuvant effect" to help deliver a level of immune response for both the mRNA and pDNA OVA antigens, comparable to that of existing delivery systems.
The AIM-traded firm had announced on 18 June that it had been undertaking a key research study to determine the level of immune response Nuvec could deliver, when combined with a target antigen.

It said the study had been undertaken using both messenger RNA (mRNA) and plasmid DNA (pDNA) encoded with the standard test antigen Ovalbumin (OVA).

The work was performed both by N4 Pharma, and as part of the company's grant collaboration with MedImmune UK, which was announced on 2 February.

N4 Pharma said the results demonstrated that the particles themselves did have a clear adjuvant effect, to help deliver a level of immune response for both the mRNA and pDNA OVA antigens, comparable to that of existing delivery systems.

It said the fact that Nuvec provided such an adjuvant response directly meant an additional adjuvant would not be required when formulating a vaccine using Nuvec as the delivery system.

That would reportedly simplify and reduce the production cost of the final vaccine, and mean less antigen would be required.

Additionally, the level of immune response was generated using a dose of Nuvec particles that was within acceptable levels, showing no adverse toxicity.

The data received to date indicated that Nuvec would be suitable for use with multiple antigens, the board explained.

Following that , the company said it had now shown successful loading and delivery of mRNA as well as pDNA, and now had both in vitro and in vivo data to show that Nuvec delivered the mRNA and pDNA intracellularly, to a sufficient level to generate a required immune response.

Additional studies to optimise the loading properties of Nuvec and to characterise the immune response were in progress.

"These results are another positive step forward for our Nuvec delivery platform," said N4 Pharma chief executive officer Nigel Theobald.

"The data validates the potential of Nuvec® to act as an alternative delivery system for the development of vaccines and cancer treatments but without the associated unwanted systemic side effects and with no signs of liver toxicity often seen using lipid nanoparticle systems."

Theobald said the firm's next research study would focus on demonstrating the ability of Nuvec to deliver an effective level of immunity using OVA, the results of which would be available in the first half of 2019.

"We are pleased with the Nuvec results received to date and will continue to focus on the many opportunities that we believe will exist for Nuvec to be used to develop a range of different vaccines and cancer treatments.

"We are building a compelling data package to aide our commercial collaboration discussions which we continue to progress."

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