Technology

Bacterial infections represent one of the most urgent global health challenges of our time. 

From invasive pneumococcal disease which kills millions of adults and children each year, through to otitis media which is responsible for significant illness in children, bacterial pathogens account for hundreds of millions of deaths and illnesses worldwide yet have not been adequately addressed by current vaccines for a variety of reasons including serotype replacement. 

Alarmingly, many types of bacteria are now becoming resistant to antibiotics, making the quest for better vaccines even more urgent. 

Our vaccines are based on proprietary strains of whole bacteria that have been modified to be safe and highly immunogenic. Bacterial strains are grown in a highly regulated, state-of-the-art Australian manufacturing facility using fermentation and inactivated by gamma irradiation, creating whole-cell vaccines that are safe and do not require an adjuvant.

The gamma irradiation process provides an advantage over other inactivation methods because it maintains the delicate structure of bacterial surface proteins, which are required to induce an effective immune response.

Unlike existing vaccines, our approach targets proteins beneath the bacterial capsule which are common to all bacterial strains within a species, meaning our vaccines offer broad spectrum protection and are future-proof against current and emerging strains.