Graham Clarke
Chief executive of ImmBio, Cambridge.
Graham Clarke’s company, ImmunoBiology (ImmBio), is being supported by the MRC to extend its partnership with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in developing a new vaccine for bacterial meningitis.
ImmBio is a Cambridge-based biotech company with a platform for generating vaccines against diseases such as tuberculosis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and meningitis. The company has received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and now the MRC.
MenBioVax is a meningitis vaccine under development using ImmBio’s unique technology platform, following a collaborative programme with academic researchers at Bristol University’s Medical School. Good early data led to funding from TSB to help with the next stage of development. Initially focusing on meningitis B, it has the potential of protecting against all meningitis strains in a single, cost-effective vaccine.
When it became necessary to scale up the development of the vaccine, ImmBio used the facilities and expertise at the HPA’s Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response at Porton Down. While the company could have simply contracted the HPA labs to do the work, ImmBio was keen to move towards a more collaborative approach, to the benefit of both parties.
ImmBio and the HPA signed a co-development agreement and, supported by an award from the MRC’s Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme, are now working in partnership to take MenBioVax through pre-clinical studies.
Graham Clarke, chief executive of ImmBio, says the project is making extremely good progress:
“It’s running very smoothly and we’re hitting our milestones on time and on budget. There aren’t many other sources of funding for this type of project in the UK, so we were very pleased when the MRC agreed to fund the programme.
“It brings more than just money, of course. It’s important for potential investors to be able to see that bodies like the MRC and the HPA have confidence in our technology and products. People are looking out for endorsement, credibility and progress. Our approach to the MenBioVax project is not only helping to cement a partnership with the HPA and develop a new vaccine against a real priority disease, it’s also raising our profile and helping us to secure future investment in the company.”
Published July 2011