TFF Pharmaceuticals has announced a research collaboration deal with the University of Georgia’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology (CVI) and with the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) for testing of dry powder universal influenza vaccines formulated using TFF’s thin film freezing technology. UT Austin will formulate CVI vaccines based on TFF’s technology, and the CVI will perform preclinical testing.
According to TFF, previous studies have shown that vaccines manufactured using thin film freezing remain stable over extend periods of time at room temperature while maintaining their immunogenicity and a particle size distribution that is suitable for delivery via the nasal or inhalation routes. The company said that it is talking to governments and defense contractors about possible vaccine development.
CVI Director Ted M. Ross commented, “Our goal is to develop vaccines that are broadly protective against most of the versions of influenza that infect humans, and particularly for those most vulnerable people in our population. Ultimately, the vaccines we hope to develop could protect against multiple forms of influenza, even those we don’t know exist yet.”
TFF Pharmaceuticals CEO Glenn Mattes said, “Both seasonal and pandemic influenza continue to be major public health threats. There is a critical unmet need to develop universal influenza vaccines to address genetic drifting of the virus that can impact the effectiveness of vaccines on patients and address the long production timelines that occur each year.”
UT Austin Head of the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Robert O. Williams added, “Combining liquid-based compounds to develop more broadly protective vaccines is often problematic. Thin film freezing these compounds may allow them to be combined more readily into a dry powder, be shelf stable, and be delivered via lung or nasal inhalation.”
TFF’s lead candidate, a dry powder voriconazole formulation for the treatment of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, is in Phase 1 development. The company’s pipeline also include a dry powder formulation of tacrolimus and a budesonide/formoterol/tiotropium combination.
Read the TFF Pharmaceuticals press release.
