Academics bring immune boosting vaccine discovery to market

An immune boosting vaccine substance developed by two Wellington academics is now being commercialised. Victoria University Associate Professors Mattie Timmer and Bridget Stocker made the initial discovery five years ago, and have been developing the ingredient, known as an adjuvant. Adjuvants are added to some vaccines to improve their efficacy and reduce side-effects. Now, along with Victoria University's commercialisation office - Wellington UniVentures, the academics have licensed some of their adjuvants to a US biotech company that will see them used in human clinical trials across a wide range of diseases. They're also preparing to spin-out a new company that will produce adjuvants and sell them onto companies that make vaccines for animals.