22nd January 2019 - Successful completion of EU Horizon 2020 Grant MACIVIVA
In 2014, Upperton Pharma Solutions was awarded a prestigious Horizon 2020 MACIVIVA grant as part of a European consortium led by Mymetics, a pioneering company at the forefront of the development of virosome-based vaccines.
The MACIVIVA goal was to develop dry powder, thermostable, cold-chain independent virosomal vaccine formulations for non-invasive needle-free administration. Such solid form vaccines should reduce the cost and improve safety and compliance in National Immunisation Programs, particularly in the developing world.
The Upperton formulation development team successfully developed spray dried formulations of HIV virosomal vaccines for both oral and nasal delivery routes. The optimised processes were scaled up and transferred into the company’s GMP clean room facility, where batches of both the Oral and the Nasal formulation were manufactured.
Upperton’s spray dried Virosomal Vaccine formulations:
- Retained virosome structure and particle size on spray drying
- Preserved antigenicity in the final solid vaccine forms
- Retained the initial vaccine immunogenicity after storage for three months at 40°C / 75%RH
- Both nasal and oral formulations were successfully dosed in animal models
- The immunogenicity of the nasal solid vaccine form was comparable to subcutaneous injection of the reference liquid vaccine
Participation in the MACIVIVA project has enabled Upperton to expand their technical capabilities to include GMP manufacture of solid form virosomal vaccines.
Successful Completion of N2 Business Growth Grant
In October 2017, Upperton was delighted to be awarded grant funding by the Nottinghamshire-based N2 Business Growth Fund to support investment into a capital project leading to business growth and the creation of new sustainable jobs. Upperton used the funds to support the establishment of a GMP clinical manufacturing capability at its Nottingham site.
The success of the project was easily measured: In November 2018 Upperton Pharma Solutions’ manufacturing facilities passed inspection by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The MHRA licence allows the company to develop pharmaceutical formulations for oral, nasal and pulmonary delivery right through from early feasibility studies to scale up and Phase I & II clinical manufacture, all from its Nottingham Science and Technology Park site.
