Vaccine Development

SNAP Vaccine Platform

 

The SNAP (Spontaneous Nanoliposome Antigen Particleization) platform technology is a unique liposome-based system that functions as a potent vaccine adjuvant designed to address functional and practical limitations facing vaccine development.

 

Recombinant proteins and peptides represent a safe and simple method of vaccine production with the added benefits of defined antigenicity, rapid manufacturing and scale up. However, recombinant proteins often fail to produce a robust immune response, leading to a lack of protection against the disease of interest.  In order to generate a viable immune response, antigens are often coupled to immunogenic carriers,  nanoparticles, or engineered into virus-like particles, a labor-intensive process with significant detriments for vaccine development and manufacturing. The SNAP platform seeks to address these limitations by providing a novel nanoparticle platform that has the functional simplicity of conventional vaccine adjuvants.

 

As shown in Figure 1, the SNAP approach involves simple incubation of His-tagged antigens with SNAP-liposomes (Figure 1A), leading to the insertion of the His-tagged antigen into the bilayer and coordination with cobalt chelated in the porphyrin lipid, forming a His-tag membrane anchor (Figure 1B).

 

Simple aqueous incubation results in binding of his-tagged antigens to SNAP liposomes.

 

 

Model of his-tag peptide binding to a bilayer leaflet in SNAP liposomes.

 

SNAP liposomes before (left) and after incubation (right) resulting in binding of antigen

Platform Advantages

 

The unique functional benefits of SNAP nanoparticles enables the efficient, rapid, and stable binding of one or more vaccine antigens to its surface, forming vaccine candidates with a markedly greater immune response compared to existing adjuvants.

 

Like a conventional vaccine adjuvant, the SNAP technology can be mixed with antigens just prior to vaccination-- making the SNAP approach a stockpileable strategy against emerging diseases, bioterrorism, or pandemics.

 

Unlike typical vaccine adjuvants, the resulting antibody responses are orders of magnitude higher due to the stable, high-density antigen presentation to the immune system.

 

In murine models, SNAP produces high antibody titers with substantially lower antigen dosing compared to other approaches -- enabling antigen sparing, which can be critical  in the production of vaccines during times of limited antigen supply (such as pandemic response).

 

Compared to other adjuvants, the SNAP platform utilizes 1000 times lower concentrations of immunostimulatory lipids (e.g. MPLA) than is typically required, reducing production costs and the likelihood of adverse effects.

SNAP liposomes produce a potent (left) and durable (right) immune response

 

The SNAP (Spontaneous Nanoliposome Antigen Particleization) platform technology is a unique liposome-based system that functions as a potent vaccine adjuvant designed to address functional and practical limitations facing vaccine development.

 

Recombinant proteins and peptides represent a safe and simple method of vaccine production with the added benefits of defined antigenicity, rapid manufacturing and scale up. However, recombinant proteins often fail to produce a robust immune response, leading to a lack of protection against the disease of interest.

 

In order to generate a viable immune response, antigens are often coupled to immunogenic carriers,  nanoparticles, or engineered into virus-like particles, a labor-intensive process with significant detriments for vaccine development and manufacturing.

 

The SNAP platform seeks to address these limitations by providing a novel nanoparticle platform that has the functional simplicity of conventional vaccine adjuvants.

 

As shown in Figure 1, the SNAP approach involves simple incubation of His-tagged antigens with SNAP-liposomes (Figure 1A), leading to the insertion of the His-tagged antigen into the bilayer and coordination with cobalt chelated in the porphyrin lipid, forming a His-tag membrane anchor (Figure 1B).

 

 

 

 

The unique functional benefits of SNAP nanoparticles enables the efficient, rapid, and stable binding of one or more vaccine antigens to its surface, forming vaccine candidates with a markedly greater immune response compared to existing adjuvants.

 

Like a conventional vaccine adjuvant, the SNAP technology can be mixed with antigens just prior to vaccination-- making the SNAP approach a stockpileable strategy against emerging diseases, bioterrorism, or pandemics.

 

Unlike typical vaccine adjuvants, the resulting antibody responses are orders of magnitude higher due to the stable, high-density antigen presentation to the immune system (Figure 3).

 

In murine models, SNAP produces high antibody titers with substantially lower antigen dosing compared to other approaches -- enabling antigen sparing, which can be critical  in the production of vaccines during times of limited antigen supply (such as pandemic response).

 

Compared to other adjuvants, the SNAP platform utilizes 1000 times lower concentrations of immunostimulatory lipids (e.g. MPLA) than is typically required, reducing production costs and the likelihood of adverse effects.