Today vaccines require cold chain for transport and storage all the way from production to patients. Newer vaccines, such as mRNA based COVID and Ebola vaccines, require a more stringent ultra-cold storage, making distribution even harder. Cold chain failures lead to about 3 million infant deaths from vaccine preventable diseases every year. Cold chain dependence has a direct link to vaccine inequality, disproportionality affecting women and children, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) globally, contributing to infant mortality, increase in birth rates, and poor healthcare outcomes.
EnsiliTech have developed ensilication, a chemical method that engineers a chemical nano shell around individual vaccine components. Once ensilicated, vaccines do not need expensive cold chain storage, are stable at any humidity, and have improved shelf life. This unique patented and award-winning method is easily applied for oral (animal and human) vaccines, as silica is FDA approved as an additive already.
Dr Asel Sartbaeva is the co-inventor of the ensilication technology and cofounder and CEO of EnsiliTech. She recognises: “it has been a big transition from academia to the world of business. I still find it hard sometimes speaking about some aspects of business which are not easy for me, such as finances and commercialisation.”
She recognises that the Shott Scale Up Accelerator’s mentoring, coaching, and networking opportunities offer her the chance to share and discuss challenges; reflect on what is and is not working, and recognise what challenges and solutions others are facing.
In five years, Asel anticipates having at least three novel, thermally stable, human vaccines in the approval process as a joint effort between EnsiliTech and leading biopharmaceutical manufacturers. This will require strategic partnerships with animal vaccine and biopharmaceuticals producers as well as expanding their lab team.
Key steps to this will be partnerships with leading biopharmaceutical developers, the regulatory pathway, and a strong IP portfolio. Asel sees that the Shott Scale Up Accelerator will provide her with the skills to ensure the success of these key steps.
