LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Turn Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical and medical device company, announced today that it has achieved a critical milestone in its effort to reduce dependency on cold-storage for vaccines.
In partnership with the nonprofit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Turn Therapeutics has validated a standardized assay and demonstrated 100% recovery of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) — a widely used viral backbone in vaccine development — after both 24 and 72 hours in its proprietary oil-based carrier at room temperature.
“This is the first time a live virus has been stably suspended in an oil-based carrier and quantitatively recovered,” said Bradley Burnam, CEO of Turn Therapeutics. “With our mixing platform and validated assay, we may be able to deliver live vaccines intranasally and without the need for deep freezing. This work could fundamentally change how humanity fights infectious disease.”
Lipid-enveloped vaccine vectors like VSV typically remain viable for only about four hours without refrigeration. By demonstrating survival for up to 72 hours at room temperature in an oil-based carrier — even when uncovered — Turn is poised to dramatically simplify the shipping, storage, and administration of vaccines, particularly in remote or low-resource settings.
Turn’s research yielded identical results across all tested dilution schemes, confirming reproducibility. It also found no degradation in viral viability or cytotoxic interference in host cell assays.
The research collaboration will now conduct a multi-arm stability challenge to assess maximum stability of recombinant VSV at both refrigerated and room temperature. Following this, in-vivo intranasal dosing studies will begin in an effort to develop a version that can be used in humans for the target indication.
“Complete recovery of the virus was borderline unexpected,” Burnam said. “We anticipated some degradation at room temperature that could be accounted for through dosing adjustments in the future. But every dilution scheme returned the same result. We now have both the mixing platform and validated assay to drive what could be a major leap in vaccine science.”
“It is such an honor to work alongside the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to expand access to life-saving care, even to some of the hardest-to-reach populations on Earth,” Burnam said.
For more information or to request an interview with Turn Therapeutics CEO Bradley Burnam, please contact Amy Martin at (202) 988-3222 or [email protected].
About Turn Therapeutics
Turn Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical and medical device organization specializing in the development of advanced wound and dermatology solutions. Utilizing its proprietary technology and patient-first approach, Turn Therapeutics addresses critical needs in healthcare, aiming to improve access, outcomes, and quality of life. Visit turntherapeutics.com to learn more about the company, including how you can become an investor in a limited access financing round.
Contacts
Amy Martin
(202) 988-3222
[email protected]
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This article was originally published on Business Wire
