About OVO
OVO Biomanufacturing are the world leading experts in providing technical solutions to solve the effects of defective interfering particles for viral vaccine manufacturers.
OVO's novel technology platform offers multi-fold yield improvements by reducing the generation and effect of these particles during all stages of vaccine manufacture. OVO's platform can be used to manage defective interfering particles for both established and developing live attenuated and inactivated viral vaccines. Our platform can be implemented without significantly altering production processes or regulatory compliance.
Defective interfering particles
What are defective interfering particles (DIPs)?
Defective interfering particles (DIPs) are naturally occurring viral-like-particles that have truncated/shortened genomes. These particles, when co-infected in a cell with a virus, hijack the viral replicative machinery and out replicate the infectious virus. This leads to the cell producing more DIPs than infectious virus. Additionally, DIPs create a localised antiviral state through stimulating the innate immune system, which creates an unfavourable environment for viral growth. When examining the total cellular population, the overall levels of virus produced are directly impacted by the presence of DIPs. The impact is observed even when DIPs are present at comparatively low levels.
Importantly:
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DIPs spontaneously generate and replicate anytime a virus replicates.
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DIPs are produced as a by-product by all viruses.
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Due to similarities in the physical characteristics of DIPs and infectious viruses, it is not possible to physically separate these DIPs from virus.
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Classical methods described in the literature such as low multiplicity of infection (MOI) are ineffective at controlling DIPs.
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Only direct management and the optimisation of DIP populations can offer an effective solution to reduce the impact and concentration of this contaminant.
How do DIPs impact viral vaccine manufacture?
Both live attenuated and inactivated viral vaccine production rely on large-scale virus growth to produce key immunogenic components. As DIPs are generated and replicate during viral growth, failure to effectively manage this undesirable by-product can lead to a significant reduction in the final yield of the immunogenic component. This is due to DIPs proliferating during growth of the virus, resulting in an overall reduction in the total levels of viral particles.
Improper DIP management can lead to a tenfold or greater reduction in yield, impacting production costs and timelines. Additionally, DIPs may compromise the replicative fitness of live attenuated vaccines.
OVO has found that DIP populations are far more complex than reported in the literature. As a result, classic methods to control DIPs are not effective at reducing their impact. Only optimising DIP populations can effectively reduce the impact of DIPs. OVO has identified the presence of DIPs in a number of human and animal vaccines, suggesting that viral yields are being substantially reduced for these manufacturers.
Technology
OVO's software platform
OVO's software-based platform offers a seamless solution for manufacturers to manage and reduce DIPs throughout their entire manufacturing process. Our platform is designed to be used independently by manufacturers to help produce working seed stocks with optimal DIP populations. This ensures that the impact of DIPs is mitigated when the virus is grown at scale, allowing manufacturers to maximise yield.
How it works?
During the manufacturing process, virus is grown over a number of stages for optimisation and upscale to produce a virus stock (working seed) that is used to grow the virus on a large scale for vaccine batch manufacture. Throughout these stages, the levels and generation of DIPs must be controlled to produce a working seed with an optimal DIP population that maximises the final manufacturing yield.
Our cloud-based platform independently guides manufacturers on how to produce a working seed with an optimal DIP population. The platform uses any type of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data to analyse DIP populations within the process and provides recommendations on the required growth conditions to manipulate and optimise these populations. This ensures the production of a working seed that maximises yield while remaining within the manufacturer's current parameters. Our platform offers a tailor-made approach to reducing the impact of DIPs, ensuring optimal manufacturing efficiency.
Flexibility is key
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Use of the platform does not impact regulatory compliance or change the manufacturing process.
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The platform can be adapted to accommodate any process improvements or optimisation steps.
Applicable markets
OVO's technology can be applied to any vaccine or vector that grows virus to produce the desired product.
Initial target market:
Influenza
Our technology can be applied to both inactivated and live attenuated vaccines. This covers over 95% of the $8 billion flu vaccine market.
Team
Co-founder of OVO.
Over 8 years experience in the virology and DIPs fields.
Co-founder of OVO.
Associate Professor at Coventry University with 20 years experience in the virology and DIPs fields.
30 years commercial pharma industry veteran with 10 years vaccine experience.
Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford.
Ex-head of Global Research at Sanofi Pasteur.
Emeritus professors at the University of Warwick.
Pioneers in the DIP, field with over 80 years of experience combined.