CanSino Biologics and Precision NanoSystems to Co-Develop COVID-19 RNA Vaccine

CanSino Biologics Inc. (Tianjin, China) and Precision NanoSystems {(PNI) Vancouver, Canada} have entered into an agreement for co-developing an mRNA lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) vaccine against COVID-19.

The companies will leverage PNI's proprietary RNA vaccine platform, comprising of lipid nanoparticle delivery system and the NanoAssemblr manufacturing technology, to rapidly advance a COVID-19 mRNA-LNP vaccine candidate towards human clinical testing and pursuant to regulatory approvals, commercialization in different regions. PNI will be responsible for development of the mRNA-LNP vaccine and CanSinoBIO will be responsible for pre-clinical testing, human clinical trials, regulatory approval and commercialization. CanSinoBIO holds the rights to commercialize the vaccine product in Asia (except Japan) with PNI retaining rights for rest of the world.

CanSinoBIO’s Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector) candidate (the Ad5-nCoV) is currently in phase II clinical trial in China. The company recently announced a collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada to initiate clinical testing of the Ad5-nCoV vaccine candidate in Canada. PNI, a provider of technologies and solutions for the development and manufacture of nanomedicines, supports its customers' drug development and manufacturing efforts in the areas of oncology, infectious diseases, and rare diseases. To offer a complete solution for drug developers, PNI has developed a library of lipid formulations for nucleic acid delivery. PNI's NanoAssemblr GMP System and manufacturing process, now transferred to several customers, plays a crucial role in scalable, high throughput, reproducible centralized or regional manufacturing of nanomedicines

“PNI has developed lipid formulations that are specifically designed for vaccine applications and we look forward to working with CanSinoBIO to bring the vaccine to patients,” said Dr. Andrew Geall, CSO at PNI and a scientific leader in the field of non-viral delivery of mRNA vaccines said.

“We are very excited to partner with CanSinoBIO, an innovative biopharmaceutical company leading the way for COVID-19 vaccine development,” said Dr. James Taylor, co-founder and CEO of PNI. “We strongly believe PNI's NxGen microfluidic technology and our expertise will enable the rapid development and manufacturing of an effective mRNA-LNP vaccine for COVID-19, and provides the foundation for future pandemic preparedness.”

Related Links:
CanSino Biologics Inc.
Precision NanoSystems