HYDERABAD: City-based biotechnology startup PopVax is developing AI-designed personalised cancer vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. The vaccines are being designed to help a patient’s immune system recognise and attack cancer cells based on the genetic characteristics of their tumour.
The company has launched the RNA Foundry, an integrated research, development and manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, in collaboration with Stochastic Sciences. The facility will support the development and production of personalised RNA medicines and strengthen India’s capabilities in mRNA technology.
Speaking to TNIE, PopVax founder Soham Sankaran said the company was combining artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and molecular biology to develop cancer vaccines tailored to individual patients.
Explaining the technology, Sankaran said the vaccines use an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform. The mRNA carries genetic instructions that enable the body’s cells to produce specific proteins associated with a patient’s tumour. These proteins, called antigens, are intended to train the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells.
The process begins with sequencing the genetic material of a patient’s tumour to identify mutations. PopVax then uses machine learning to identify potential neoantigens — abnormal proteins or protein fragments produced by cancer cells that can trigger an immune response.
The company uses this information to design an mRNA sequence carrying instructions to produce the selected antigens. Once administered, the vaccine is intended to help the immune system identify cancer cells carrying these markers and attack them.
Aim is to minimise damage to healthy cells: Firm founder
Unlike conventional vaccines, which are manufactured in standardised formulations for large populations, personalised cancer vaccines are designed separately for each patient based on the genetic profile of their tumour. The approach aims to make the immune response more targeted and minimise damage to healthy cells, he added.
Sankaran said the company was focusing on cancers with poor survival outcomes, where more than 80% of patients die within five years of diagnosis, according to its estimates.
He stressed that the vaccines would be developed as an additional treatment alongside existing cancer therapies and would not replace conventional treatments. The aim is to provide the immune system with another way to target cancer cells.
However, the vaccine candidates are still under development and have not yet been administered to patients. The company plans to initially work with a small group of doctors and patients outside India and make the vaccines available through named-patient and compassionate-use pathways by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
‘High-quality RNA a challenge’
A key component of the RNA Foundry is PopVax’s proprietary mRNA platform and fridge-stable LNP formulation. Sankaran said specialised research and manufacturing infrastructure was essential to producing RNA medicines that meet high-quality standards, but such facilities remained limited.
“Personalised RNA cancer vaccines have the potential to transform cancer care. But research, development and manufacturing for these medicines is not widely available to those that need them the most. Over the last four years at PopVax, we have learned that making RNA medicines to a high standard of quality is not easy,” he said in a social media announcement.
The facility is designed to meet global Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), which prescribe quality and manufacturing standards for pharmaceutical products.
PopVax has already used its mRNA platform to manufacture a vaccine candidate targeting Covid-19 variants. The company began a clinical trial in Australia on August 31 for a broadly protective mRNA vaccine designed to target emerging variants.
Sankaran said the cancer vaccine programme would use the same mRNA platform and fridge-stable LNP formulation as the Covid-19 vaccine candidate. However, the cancer vaccines would require separate clinical trials to establish their safety and effectiveness.
Biotech representatives welcome the launch
The RNA Foundry announcement also drew responses from biotechnology industry leaders, entrepreneurs and researchers. Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw congratulated Sankaran on the initiative, writing on X: “Kudos to @sohamsankaran for this cutting-edge endeavour.”
She further highlighted the company’s plan to manufacture more than 100 personalised cancer vaccines over the next year.
Biotechnology entrepreneur and investor Caleb Friesen highlighted PopVax’s use of tumour sequencing data and AI to design personalised vaccine candidates. He also drew attention to the proposed eight-to-10-week timeline for developing a vaccine for an individual patient.
Biomedical scientist Avi Roy described the facility as an engineering achievement, noting its proposed ability to convert tumour sequencing data into a personalised vaccine within eight to 10 weeks. Other researchers also described personalised cancer vaccines as an emerging area of cancer treatment with potential for wider application.
Founded in late 2021, PopVax has built an integrated technology platform covering AI-powered protein design, mRNA technology, LNP delivery systems and in-house manufacturing.
Besides cancer vaccines, the company’s research programmes cover infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, hepatitis C, human papillomavirus (HPV) and malaria.