Hyderabad startup develops personalised cancer vaccines using AI and mRNA
PopVax has launched a new research and manufacturing facility in Hyderabad to produce tailored RNA medicines.
Hyderabad-based biotechnology startup PopVax is creating personalised cancer vaccines through messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and artificial intelligence (AI), according to The New Indian Express. The company has opened the RNA Foundry, a research, development, and manufacturing centre in Hyderabad, in partnership with Stochastic Sciences.
PopVax founder Soham Sankaran said the firm uses machine learning and molecular biology to design vaccines tailored to a patient's specific tumour genetic profile. The process involves sequencing tumour genetic material to find mutations and identifying neoantigens to trigger an immune response.
The vaccines use an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform to instruct cells to produce proteins that help the immune system attack cancer. Sankaran noted that these vaccines are intended to work alongside existing therapies rather than replacing them, specifically targeting cancers with survival rates where over 80 per cent of patients die within five years of diagnosis.
The company has already used its platform for a Covid-19 variant vaccine candidate, which entered clinical trials in Australia on August 31. While the cancer vaccine programme uses a similar platform, it will require its own clinical trials to prove safety and effectiveness.
PopVax aims to make the vaccines available through compassionate-use and named-patient pathways by the end of this year, depending on regulatory approvals. The company plans to work with a small group of patients and doctors outside India initially.