The Edmonton Metropolitan Region’s Entos Pharmaceuticals (Entos), a healthcare biotechnology company developing nucleic acid medicines with its breakthrough proprietary Fusogenix drug delivery platform, is pleased to announce it is receiving advisory services and funding of up to $5M from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) as part of the Government of Canada’s continuing support for the development of domestic COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
Edmonton’s Entos developed a Fusogenix DNA vaccine called Covigenix that in preclinical studies induces a strong neutralizing antibody response plus a potent and balanced T cell response against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. NRC IRAP’s support will help progress Entos’ COVID-19 DNA vaccine research to phase 1 human clinical trial to assess its safety at the Clinical Trials Research Center at the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV) in Nova Scotia, Canada.
“Entos is honoured to be one of the innovative Canadian companies receiving NRC IRAP support,” said John Lewis, CEO, Entos Pharmaceuticals. “We are excited to use this funding to advance the phase 1 human clinical trial of Covigenix at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology.”
There is a critical need for the development and manufacture of safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19 for Canadians but also the global population to ensure lasting protection. Entos is actively seeking funding from government and investors to advance Covigenix through phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials, accelerate upscaling of Covigenix GMP-manufacturing capacity, and promote distribution of millions of doses to the global population.
About Entos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Entos develops next generation nucleic acid-based therapies using their proprietary Fusogenix drug delivery system. Fusogenix is a proteo-lipid vehicle (PLV) formulation that uses a novel mechanism of action to deliver molecules, intact and unmodified, directly into the cytosol of target cells. The technology is applicable to a wide range of therapeutic types including gene therapy, mRNA, miRNA, RNAi, CRISPR and small molecule drugs. For more information, visit www.entospharma.com.
