MEDFORD, Mass.– Sunflower Therapeutics, a public benefit corporation focused on transforming global access to protein manufacturing capacity, announced it has received its first milestone payment through its collaboration with SK bioscience. The payment marks the successful completion of a technology transfer package for multiple human papillomavirus (HPV) serotypes, advancing the joint development of a cost-effective 10-valent HPV vaccine.
The collaboration between Sunflower and SK bioscience is aimed at addressing HPV, which remains a major global health crisis. Cervical cancer, caused by certain strains of HPV, poses a particularly severe burden in Africa. In 2018, 19 of the top 20 countries with the highest cervical cancer rates were located on the continent. Globally, only an estimated 12 percent of adolescent girls have been reached by HPV immunization programs. The milestone marks the first step in a process that will lead to manufacturing scale-up, clinical trials, and eventual commercialization of the vaccine.
“Our investment in and collaboration with Sunflower Therapeutics reflects our commitment to building strong partnerships for global health,” said Hyun-jun Youn, Vice President and Head of Business Development 1 Office at SK bioscience. “Together, we aim to develop safe and cost-effective vaccines that can broaden access where they are most needed.”
The partners are developing the 10-valent HPV vaccine using Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris), an alternative protein expression host. Sunflower’s strain engineering platform was employed to generate and optimize P. pastoris strains expressing each of the 10 serotypes, which were successfully transferred to SK bioscience for further development.
“By completing this tech transfer milestone, we’ve shown how our engineered yeast host and biomanufacturing approach can support real-world vaccine production,” said Dr. Kerry R. Love, Founder, CEO and President of Sunflower Therapeutics. “Together with SK bioscience, we are making meaningful progress toward an affordable HPV vaccine that can expand access where it is most urgently needed.”
