Innovative biotech company Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) has developed a new proprietary product candidate based on mRNA technology as part of its Sofra preclinical platform.

The company says its new proprietary SOF-VAC asset has been selected for further development based on its potential to make mRNA vaccines safer, better tolerated by patients, and more cost-effective to manufacture.

Noxopharm notes it continues to develop SOF-VAC as part of an ongoing collaboration with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, and aims to make a broad range of mRNA vaccines safer by reducing inflammation associated with mRNA vaccines.

“mRNA technologies represent one of today’s most exciting and rapidly developing areas of medicine”

Development to date has demonstrated ‘strong’ in vitro and in vivo activity against inflammation.

The company also notes SOF-VAC represents first-in-class achievement as the smallest known molecule of its type to have demonstrated this activity. Noxopharm reports a key advantage of such a small molecule is it reduces the risk of off-target effects compared to larger molecules of this type.

Addressing the vaccine enhancer, Noxopharm Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Gisela Mautner says: “mRNA technologies represent one of today’s most exciting and rapidly developing areas of medicine. They are expected to play an even greater role in the years ahead as they become applicable to numerous diseases and we believe SOF-VAC could contribute significantly in this field.

Our collaboration with the Hudson Institute team is delivering promising results in the lab, and we aim to build on those and generate interest in our assets. To that end, we will dedicate appropriate resources to this initiative, releasing more data in the future as we further strengthen our IP position, while at the same time keeping on track with our oncology-related research activities.”

The company also reports it has ‘significant’ progress in the drug development part of the Sofra platform, advancing its inflammation drug program that includes the development of standalone treatments for autoimmune diseases such as lupus.

Noxopharm is an ASX-listed biotech company focused on discovering and developing novel treatments for cancer and inflammation. The company currently had 3 active drug development programs, including its lead clinical-stage drug candidate Veyonda, as well as 2 innovative technology platforms Chroma (oncology), and Sofra (inflammation and autoimmunity, including mRNA vaccine enhancement).

Noxopharm is actively working on advancing its Sofra program at a time in which mRNA technology has achieved prominence over recent years as the basis for 2 of the most successful COVID-19 vaccines. The mRNA market was US$42 billion in 2021, and is expected to grow to US$128 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 13%.