NanoCliq
Industry: Vaccines for parasitic diseases
NanoCliq is pioneering a new class of protein nanoparticle vaccines for parasitic diseases. Fully operational, they aim to establish a fee-for-service model with a staff of 20-100 scientists and technicians to maximize the platform nature of their technology.
Leishmaniasis is the current target of NanoCliq’s work. Infecting 1-2 million people a year in 88 countries, organizations such as the Gates Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense consider it a top-level concern; Malaria is the only parasitic killer with higher fatalities. There is currently no prophylactic vaccine for leishmaniasis, which infects humans through sand flies.
By displaying the α-Gal carbohydrate found in the Leishmania parasite on the surface of immunogenic virus-like particles (VLP), NanoCliq has devised a vaccine which has demonstrated strong protection in animal trials conducted by collaborators at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Funding from GRA will provide critical support in bringing NanoCliq’s Leishmaniasis vaccine toward an FDA investigational new drug meeting, and eventually first-in-human clinical trials.
