Protein pods as a novel cold chain independent vaccine platform

Theme: Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy

The project aims to build on the experience of CellGS and Prof Mori at the Kyoto Institute of Technology in the production of a novel protein 'PODS' as a potential platform for oral vaccines that do not require a stable cold chain. PODS protein production uses technology based on Bombyx mori cypovirus polyhedrin protein to 'armour' proteins of interest, leading to their incorporation into stable and highly heat resistant PODS proteins. This technology makes the proteins significantly more robust throughout manufacturing, storage and utilisation stages of the lifecycle. PODS technology also has significant potential for oral delivery of vaccines, as oral delivery results in the breakdown of the polyhedrin protein in the intestine, followed by delivery of the antigen to the mucosal surface of the gut.

Using two viruses as model systems, we plan to examine the utility of PODS for the generation of an oral vaccine platform for use in environments where the maintenance of a cold-chain is often not permissable.