Our Innovative Approach
Adjuvants constitute an indispensable element of modern vaccines because they enhance the ability of a vaccine to elicit strong and durable immune responses (including in immunologically compromised individuals), reduce the antigen dose and the number of immunizations, and modulate the nature of immune response to specific pathogens.
Despite the increasingly important role of adjuvants in modern vaccination, there are only a few adjuvants approved by the FDA for human use. Among them, QS-21, a natural product isolated from the tree bark of Quillaja Saponaria Molina, an evergreen tree native to temperate central Chile, is deemed a gold standard of immunostimulants, owing to its excellence in potentiating a balanced Th1/Th2 immune response with antigen-specific CTL production, which makes it an ideal choice for vaccines against intracellular pathogens as well as for therapeutic cancer vaccines.
Adjuvax LLC focuses on developing novel saponin-based vaccine adjuvants from natural resources other than Quillaja saponaria Molina, to circumvent ecological damage and supply shortage due to its overexploitation.
Adjuvax LLC demonstrated it’s strategy with a pair of semi-synthetic VSA saponin adjuvants prepared in one step from Momordica saponins isolated from widely available seeds of Momordica cochinchinensis SPRENG (MC), a perennial vine. Immunological evaluations have demonstrated that just like QS-21, VSA adjuvants induce a strong antigen-specific, mixed Th1/Th2 immune response. Moreover, the VSA adjuvants are much less toxic than QS-21 and compatible with different adjuvant combination and formulation techniques.
Chemical Synthesis
Adjuvax’s novel saponin adjuvants are synthesized and purified in our lab at Station 41 of Southern Research and UAB.
Preclinical Testing
Our candidate adjuvants are tested both in vitro and in vivo to ensure minimal toxicity and maximum efficacy.
Goals
Our goal is to build a toolbox of structurally-defined, saponin-based adjuvants for use in a variety of vaccine applications.
At Adjuvax, we are dedicated to developing potent, cost-effective, structurally defined, and highly accessible saponin adjuvants with diverse activity profiles tailored to various vaccine applications.
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