technology

BERA is Abera’s highly efficient platform for the display of antigens at the surface of OMVs

Novel vaccine platform enabling versatile opportunities

Abera’s vaccine delivery platform – BERA – is based on Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs) derived from genetically optimized Gram-negative bacteria. Our plug-and-play-like technology allows for high-density decoration of the OMVs with recombinant antigens and other functional proteins to develop effective vaccines and potent immunotherapeutics.

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Using Outer Membrane Vesicles for antigen delivery

Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs) are nanosized spherical structures that pinch-off spontaneously from Gram-negative bacteria and can be easily harvested. OMVs have strong intrinsic adjuvant activity and are potent stimulators of humoral and cellular immune responses, which makes them highly suitable as delivery platform for antigens.

OMVs cannot replicate and thus have an improved safety profile compared to whole-cell based bacterial vaccines. Moreover, we engineered our OMV-production hosts to circumvent the natural reactogenicity of bacteria. This resulted in a potent, yet entirely safe vaccine delivery platform as demonstrated in several toxicity studies.

Mucosal immunization

Vaccines based on Abera’s vaccine delivery platform can be administered nasally and orally for induction of local mucosal responses in addition to systemic immunity. Elimination at the mucosa blocks transmission of pathogens between individuals. Needle-free administration of our vaccines results in a lower demand for trained medical personnel and equipment, allowing for more cost-efficient procedures compared to vaccination by injection. Abera’s platform is also compatible with other administration routes depending on what is suitable for specific indications and pathogens.

Cost-effective and fast production

Many vaccines are complex and expensive to produce with hundreds of process steps, long lead times and expensive materials. In contrast, vaccines based on Abera’s bacterial-based platform can be designed and manufactured in 7-14 days. The platform enables production of large quantities of the vaccine at a low-cost through a well-proven fermentation process and easy harvesting methods. The speed of development enables us to design and try vaccine candidates in a cost-efficient process to find the most suitable candidates for further development.