Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (NASDAQ: TNXP) has announced an exclusive research collaboration and option agreement with Kansas State University to develop zinc nanoparticle (ZNP) mRNA inoculations replacing lipid nanoparticles (LNP) tech in the present SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Current COVID-19 vaccines are based on LNPs, and therefore they need ultra-cold storage and ferrying since they are unstable at normal temperatures.
ZNP technology could improve mRNA vaccine’s stability
The novel ZNP technology can potentially improve the stability of mRNA vaccines throughout a wide temperature range. However, because LNP mRNA formulations are temperature sensitive, they can only be shipped and stored at extremely low temperatures, limiting their global application. Kansas State University will use the research agreement to accelerate the preclinical research of a novel ZNP mRNA vaccine based on SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to protect against COVID-19.
CEO of Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Seth Lederman, said, “The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines against COVID-19 have shown that mRNA technology is rapidly deployable and is likely to be one of the first lines of defense for future pandemics. In addition, the ZNP technology invented and developed by scientists at K-State can make mRNA vaccines that are free from LNPs, which we believe has the potential to improve the stability of mRNA vaccines at room temperature and facilitate their deployment in places without ultra-cold chain supply systems. We have now learned that pandemics need to be controlled globally.”
Use of LNP tech limits deployments of vaccines
“The LNP technology of current mRNA COVID-19 vaccines limits our ability to deploy these vaccines in many parts of the world. The technology we have developed uses zinc to replace LNPs and can result in more temperature stable mRNA vaccines. Unlike LNPs, the ZNPs are believed to be stable over a range of temperatures, including room temperature. Eliminating the need for LNPs in mRNA vaccines could speed deployment of new vaccines and make them more available globally,” commented Robert K. DeLong, inventor of the core technology and associate professor in the Nanotech Innovation Center of Kansas Sates in the Anatomy and Physiology Department.
