Batavia Biosciences receives $6.5M grant to take next step towards polio-free world
Chris Yallop, CSO of Batavia Biosciences, explains: The nOPV2 vaccine, provided by our partner Bio Farma, is currently the most advanced in clinical development and most in demand.
Leiden, the Netherlands, Sep 16, 2019 – Today, Batavia Biosciences announces it received a grant of $6.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a manufacturing process for a novel oral vaccine against polio virus type 2 strain (nOPV2) to help protect children worldwide from future polio outbreaks.
In a collaboration with PATH and Bio Farma, one of the world’s leading OPV manufacturers, Batavia Biosciences is currently producing attenuated and safe novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV) candidates in its Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facility. The nOPV2 vaccine to be developed under the grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the first nOPV vaccine to go through clinical development, to be followed by vaccines for nOPV1 and nOPV3.
Chris Yallop, CSO of Batavia Biosciences, explains: “The nOPV2 vaccine, provided by our partner Bio Farma, is currently the most advanced in clinical development and most in demand. The successful development of a low-cost manufacturing process for the novel PV2 strain will allow us to next apply our developed process to the novel PV1 and PV3 strains.”
The manufacturing process for the nOPV2 vaccine is based on the same highly intensified, low-cost vaccine manufacturing platform that Batavia Biosciences developed together with Univercells for the inactivated Sabin polio vaccine (sIPV). The platform combines Univercells NevoLine™ manufacturing technology with Batavia Biosciences’ Highly Intensified Process (HIP-Vax) technology for viral vaccines.
Menzo Havenga, CEO of Batavia Biosciences, comments: “We are very excited to work with these eminent partners and take the next step towards a polio-free world. Only by working closely together will we be able to protect every last child from all forms of poliovirus.”
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About Batavia Biosciences
Batavia Biosciences significantly contributes to ease human suffering from infectious diseases by improving the success rate in the translation of candidate medicines from discovery to the clinic. We offer our novel technologies and in-depth know-how in order to help our partners to complete preclinical phases in biopharmaceutical product development at higher speed, reduced costs and increased success. The company focuses on the early stages of product development including cell line generation, upstream process development (mammalian & microbial), purification development, product characterization and clinical manufacturing. Headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands, with a subsidiary in Woburn, Massachusetts, and offices in Hong Kong, Batavia Biosciences is privileged to have strong strategic partners worldwide.
About Bio Farma
Supported by competent employees with experience for more than 125 years, Bio Farma, a state-owned enterprise in Indonesia, manufacturing and distributing vaccines and one of a few WHO pre-qualified vaccine manufacturers, plays an important role in fostering a healthy community, both national as well as global. With the philosophy “Dedicated to improve Quality of Life”, Bio Farma strives to devote efforts to Global Health Security. Bio Farma focuses on research and development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of biological products both nationally and globally. Bio Farma plays an active role in advancing vaccine and other life science products among others through research collaboration among prominent partners both national as well as international. For more information on Bio Farma please visit:
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