Glythera Ltd - Glythera and PATH sign collaboration agreement to evaluate new conjugation technology for pneumococcal vaccines

02 Aug 2010

Glythera Ltd, a UK based company specialising in a new generation of biological therapeutics through advanced glycosylation technologies, today announced a research collaboration agreement with PATH to employ its proprietary PermaLink technology as a versatile method for producing more efficacious carbohydrate-based conjugate vaccines against pneumococcal disease—the most common cause of invasive pneumonia responsible for killing more than 800,000 children under age five each year worldwide. Under the agreement, Glythera will engage in preclinical research to attach antigenic capsular polysaccharides to carrier proteins as a potential alternative conjugation method that could help optimize the production of these vaccines.

The collaboration supports the goal of PATH’s pneumococcal vaccine project to accelerate the development of new vaccines against pneumococcal disease that are effective and affordable for the developing world, which includes new pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) specifically targeted to meet needs in low-resource countries. It further complements preclinical research already underway through a public-private partnership between PATH and the Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the US Food and Drug Administration to improve the efficiency of a conjugation process for PCVs.

“Glythera’s novel PermaLink technology has the potential to greatly improve our ability to attach complex carbohydrate antigens to carrier proteins, without destroying delicate chemical features of the carbohydrates that are often important determinants for antigenicity,” says Dr. Mark Alderson, director of PATH’s pneumococcal vaccine project.
“Glythera is proud to partner with PATH,” says Anthony Baxter, Chairman of Glythera. “We look forward to working together to support the preclinical development of new technologies to produce vaccines that will make a real difference to people throughout the world.”

For more information, please contact:

Mark Warne, Director               Tel. +44 (0) 8456 434978

About Glythera

Glythera Ltd is a spin-out biotechnology company from the University of Bath, creating a new generation of biological therapeutics through advanced glycosylation and conjugation technologies. The company has core expertise in protein/peptide functionalisation and glycosylation technologies, imparting improved pharmacokinetic properties to a broader range of biological therapeutics. For more information, lpease visit www.glythera.com.

About PATH

PATH is an international nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. By collaborating with diverse public- and private-sector partners, PATH helps provide appropriate health technologies and vital strategies that change the way people think and act. PATH’s work improves global health and well-being. For more information, please visit www.path.org.