Pfizer Gains Access to LPN Tech For mRNA Vaccines, Therapeutics

Pfizer and Acuitas Therapeutics recently entered into a development and option agreement under which Pfizer will license Acuitas’ lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for up to 10 mRNA vaccine or therapeutic development targets.

Currently, Pfizer leverages Acuitas’ clinically-validated LNP technology in its COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty.

“We are making significant investments to harness the power of the mRNA-LNP technology and deliver potential new breakthrough vaccines and therapeutics that address significant unmet needs for patients,”  Mikael Dolsten, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer and president of worldwide research, development, and medical at Pfizer, said in the announcement.

“This agreement expands our LNP capabilities and allows us to explore more projects within our existing vaccines area and new therapeutic areas where mRNA-LNP technology holds potential for success,” Dolsten continued.

Biotechnology company Acuitas Therapeutics specializes in developing lipid nanoparticle delivery systems for molecular therapeutics. Researchers found that ionizable cationic lipid components determine the potency of LNP therapeutics.

So far, the company has synthesized over 500 novel cationic lipids and screened these in an in vivo model system, uncovering the safety of the LNP carriers to deliver nucleic acid payloads, including siRNA, mRNA, plasmid, and antisense oligonucleotides.

Since 2009, Acuitas has partnered with pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and academic institutes to advance nucleic acid therapeutics into clinical trials and to the market.

The company currently supports several international partners in developing mRNA-LNP COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer and BioNTech, CureVac, and Imperial College London. 

Of the many COVID-19 vaccines under development, the vaccines that have shown the most promising results in preventing COVID-19 infection are the ones leveraging mRNA strands encapsulated in LNPs. 

Specifically, the efficacy of these mRNA vaccines developed by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna is about 95 percent.

“Acuitas is extremely proud that its LNP technology contributes to the success of Comirnaty and is excited to be working with Pfizer to advance new vaccines and therapeutic products,” Thomas Madden, MD, president & CEO of Acuitas Therapeutics, said in the recent announcement.