The startup develops peptide-based therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines targeting viral infections and oncology, utilizing a drug delivery system that enhances in vitro performance and scalability. This approach addresses the limitations of nucleic acid size in vaccine formulation, enabling precise therapeutic effects on specific tissues and cells to improve patient outcomes.
Funding
$12.5M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Current mRNA vaccine delivery methods often face challenges related to cargo size limitations, inefficient cellular entry, poor endosomal release, and difficulties in achieving targeted delivery to specific tissues, which can hinder the development of effective therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines.
Solution
pHion Therapeutics develops peptide-based vaccines and therapeutics using its proprietary RALA technology, a 30-amino acid peptide sequence that condenses anionic cargo, such as mRNA and DNA, into nanoparticles, irrespective of size. These nanoparticles facilitate efficient cellular entry and complete release from endosomes. The RALA platform enables the delivery of multiple anionic molecules, evading detection and generating a potent antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell response for therapeutic vaccines, as well as long-term T-cell and antibody memory for prophylactic vaccines. The platform is scalable, uses globally available mixing devices, and allows for lyophilized or liquid formulations, resulting in a more sustainable product with minimal waste.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes researchers and pharmaceutical companies focused on developing next-generation mRNA vaccines and therapeutics for viral infections and oncology.
Features
- RALA peptide-based drug delivery system for condensing anionic cargo (RNA and DNA) into nanoparticles.
- Efficient cellular entry and 100% release from the endosomes.
- Ability to deliver multiple anionic molecules while evading detection.
- Generates potent antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell response for therapeutic vaccines.
- Induces long-term T-cell and antibody memory for prophylactic vaccines.
- Scalable manufacturing process using globally available mixing devices.
- Options for lyophilized or liquid formulations.
- High encapsulation efficiency (>99%) of cargo.