ReNewVax Ltd (“ReNewVax”) is a next generation vaccine company, spun out of the University of Liverpool with the benefit of Innovate UK and University funding, that is developing novel vaccines that address some of the world’s most pressing bacterial infections.

Traditional vaccine development is hypothesis driven and carries high risk until clinical evidence is generated.

ReNewVax employs a rational approach to vaccine development, using analysis of clinical samples to identify protein antigens that can form the basis of an effective vaccine.

This is further derisked by including ex vivo human cell testing to confirm immunologic properties of our vaccines before testing in clinic.

The lead program in our pipeline, RVX-001, is potentially the first universal vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) – one of the WHO’s priority pathogens, which is a leading cause of death associated with anti-microbial resistance (AMR) globally.

Pneumococcus vaccines represent the largest vaccine market pre-pandemic, with annual sales of ca. $9.5bn.  The market is dominated by Merck and Pfizer with pneumococcal conjugate (PCV) and polysaccharide (PPSV) vaccines.

There are around 100 different serotypes (versions) of the pneumococcus and existing vaccines target ca. 20% of these.

The nature of bacteria results in a phenomenon known as serotype replacement, whereby, over time, new variants that are not susceptible to existing vaccines, become dominant in the population, replacing those serotypes that the existing vaccines have been designed to hit and reducing vaccine effectiveness.  For example, the most recent published data shows that pneumococcal disease in the EU increased by 41% over a five-year period, despite high levels of vaccination.

In addition, due to their composition, existing vaccines are complex and expensive to manufacture, resulting in high dosage costs and limiting their use globally.

RVX-001 is designed with antigens common to all pneumococcus serotypes, making it potentially the first universal pneumococcal vaccine.

Because RVX-001’s components can be produced recombinantly, the vaccine will also be cheaper to manufacture than existing vaccines.

With efficacy in animals already established and ex vivo human studies showing a strong immunogenic profile, RVX-001 is entering IND/CTA-enabling studies, with a view to going into clinical trials in early-2025.

The company is pursuing a virtual model and has established an experienced core team with a capable network of consultants and partners to support development of its programs.

In addition to RVX-001, we have 2 further pipeline programs – RVX-002 focused on Group B Streptococcus and RVX-003 focused on Group A Streptococcus.

ReNewVax is currently fundraising, looking to close a £4m funding round during 1H2023.

ReNewVax is uniquely positioned to develop next-generation vaccines that will overcome the shortcomings of existing approaches. Our vaccine pipeline is aligned with the three main stages of discovery, preclinical and clinical, and is segmented into 8 key steps:

Discovery phase
Step 1 -Genomics
Step 2 – Rational Antigen discovery

Preclinical phase: Step 3 – Vaccine Candidate Validation
Step 4 – Vaccine Formulation
Step 5 – Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy in Animal Models
Step 6 – Human PBMCs ex vivo predictive models
Step 7 – IND/CTA-enabling studies

Clinical phase
Step 8 – Phase I/II Clinical trial”