London-based biotech startup Baseimmune is using big data and a design algorithm to help develop future-proofed vaccines.
The Imperial College spin-off recently announced a €4.1 million ($4.8m) raise to develop vaccines against existing and emerging human and animal health threats including COVID-19, malaria and African swine fever.
Baseimmune’s technology harnesses pathogen and epidemiological big data combined with biological expertise to devise a robust method for antigen discovery, which is one of the major roadblocks in vaccine development.
WHY IT MATTERS
Most vaccine antigens are based on a single pathogen component, such as the spike protein of the COVID SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which limits their effectiveness and ability to cope with new variants.
Baseimmune’s vaccine design algorithm uses genomic, epidemiological, immunological, clinical and evolutionary data to create new synthetic antigens containing all the parts of the pathogen that are most likely to evoke a strong protective immune response. This means the vaccine can tackle emerging pathogens and remain effective when pathogens mutate.
THE LARGER CONTEXT
The pandemic has fuelled a renaissance in vaccine research with the global vaccine market predicted to reach €9.32 billion ($108 billion) by 2027.
ON THE RECORD
Baseimmune cofounder Josh Blight, said: “Vaccines are a powerful tool for eradicating infectious diseases, yet every year millions of lives are still lost or irreversibly changed worldwide due to preventable infections. We know vaccines work – we just need better ones against more diseases if we’re to truly make a difference to global health.”
Baseimmune cofounder Ariane Gomes, said: “I grew up in Brazil and saw first-hand the impact of infectious diseases as my aunt lived her whole life with the devastating effects of polio, a vaccine-preventable disease. The COVID pandemic has reminded us that infectious diseases aren’t going anywhere, so we urgently need to develop the next generation of vaccines to help protect us all.”
Baseimmune cofounder Phillip Kemlo, said: “The major problem with current vaccines is that they aren’t designed to account for the evolutionary arms race that occurs between pathogens and the human immune system, and can’t protect against future variants or new mutations. Our prediction algorithm addresses all of these challenges, accelerating the creation of vaccines that are as good as they possibly can be and will stand up to whatever variants may come in the future.”
Pirkka Palomäki, partner at Maki.vc, said: “With hundreds of millions being poured into researching new vaccines, the missing link remains that none of these vaccines are forward thinking by design. Baseimmune is building the industry leader to predict future strains and design antigens that protect against them. The word variant, that has thrust itself into public discourse, may find thanks to this brilliant team, that its days are numbered.”
Hussein Kanji, partner at Hoxton Ventures, says, “Through COVID, we’ve all learned the importance of having effective and rapidly developed vaccines. With its unique software platform, Baseimmune is setting the bar by leveraging AI to innovate vaccine therapies.”
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