Vienna-based biotech company NovoArc has developed a microbiological technology that protects active pharmaceutical ingredients from degradation in the stomach. In future, this will allow many vaccinations to be administered in tablet form, as well as making vaccines much easier to store and transport. The FFG’s Spin-off Fellowship has given NovoArc the boost it needed to achieve this step.
Vaccines and some other active pharmaceutical ingredients must be injected, because when taken orally, they would be degraded by the acids and enzymes in the stomach. NovoArc has found a solution to this problem: the biotech company has developed a technology which “packages” the active ingredients in a shell of tetraether lipids like those found in the cell walls of highly robust bacteria. This encapsulation allows the vaccines to pass through the stomach unscathed and then develop their full effect at the intended site of action.
NovoArc founders David Wurm, Julian Quehenberger and Oliver Spadiut created the basis for this innovation at the Vienna University of Technology with their research on thermoacidophilic archaea. These microorganisms have adapted to extreme conditions and survive in rugged environments such as geysers. As they are difficult to control and cultivate, for a long time they have only been the subject of basic research. However, the Viennese team has now succeeded in developing an efficient bioprocess to cultivate this microorganism.
FFG funding to create a spin-off
The step from university research to spin-off finally succeeded with a Spin-off Fellowship from the FFG granted in 2022.
CTO Julian Quehenberger:
It would have been extremely difficult for us without this funding. We had progressed too far for basic research projects but were not yet sufficiently developed to attract investors or customers. It was precisely at this point that the FFG funding helped us bring the product to market maturity.
Easier storage
As well as making it easier to administer active pharmaceutical ingredients, NovoArc’s innovative process offers a second advantage over liquid vaccines: “Our technology also protects the medication during storage,” explains CEO David Wurm. “This means a cold chain is no longer necessary as the active substances don’t need to be stored and transported at low sub-zero temperatures. This not only saves costs but is also of benefit when delivering to developing countries or war zones,” says David Wurm.
The innovative life sciences company is already working on its next groundbreaking invention, an oral mRNA vaccination. “This is something that both the industry and patients have spent a long time waiting for,” David Wurm is convinced. NovoArc also wants to work with the FFG in its next development steps, as Julian Quehenberger notes: “They offer a great range of funding opportunities, and the FFG’s mentoring and workshop services have also been very helpful in our development so far.”