Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Biochemical superglue bonds with SpyBiotech’s vision of next-generation vaccines

Innovation Research

SpyBiotech, an Oxford University spinout developing a molecular superglue for rapid development of vaccines targeting a range of diseases, secures £4m seed funding at launch, led by Oxford Sciences Innovation with participation from GV.

SpyBiotech, an Oxford University spinout using “biochemical superglue,” that can facilitate the rapid development of robust and novel vaccines, has raised £4m at launch in seed financing to develop the technology.

The company gets its name from the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes (Spy), the same organism behind a number of infections including strep throat and impetigo. The team behind SpyBiotech divided Spy into a peptide, SpyTag, and a protein partner, SpyCatcher. Naturally attracted to each other, the two form a covalent bond once combined.

SpyBiotech believes that this bond is the missing link to effective development and production of highly effective vaccines. The company will initially focus on virus-like particles (VLPs), a leading technology to induce immune responses by vaccination. 

Read more (Oxford University Innovation website)

Similar stories

Singula Bio, a new Oxford spin-out company - Cancer need not be fatal

General Innovation Research

Singula Bio, a bold new seed-stage biotechnology company spun out of Oxford University, has been launched with the intention of helping show that cancer need not be fatal. Led by three Oxford cancer specialists, the firm is aims to become a world leader in therapies to use against difficult-to-treat solid malignancies such as ovarian cancer - using the body’s own immune system to fight previously fatal cancers.

Major rise in public support for COVID vaccine – Oxford study

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

More than three quarters of people in the UK now say they are ’very likely’ to have the vaccine – up from 50% among the same group of survey respondents five months ago –according to a two-wave Oxford University survey published today.

Three ways virtual reality could transform mental health treatment

General Research

Coronavirus vaccination linked to substantial reduction in hospitalisation, real-world data suggests

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

The first study to describe the effects in real-world communities of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine has been reported in a pre-print publication today, showing a clear reduction in the risk of hospitalisation from COVID-19 amongst those who have received the vaccine.

Reprogramming tumour cells using an antimalarial drug

General Research

Results from the ATOM clinical trial at the University of Oxford have shown that the anti-malarial drug Atovaquone can reduce very low oxygen tumour environments. This has the potential to make cancers behave less aggressively and to improve the impact of everyday cancer treatments.

Oxford-led technology to help those at high risk from Covid-19

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

More people in England at high risk from Covid-19 will get priority access to vaccines thanks to new technology developed by a University of Oxford-led team of researchers that can identify those who may be most vulnerable to the virus.