Two new partnerships will enable Croda to provide its clients with sustainable and eco-friendly versions of two commonly used adjuvants by the vaccine industry: Squalene and QS-21.
Croda International Plc has signed an agreement with Amyris an Botanical Solutions (BSI) to provide their clients with more sustainable vaccine adjuvants.
Briefing
- Croda partnering with Amyris to produce a sustainable version of squalene, an adjuvant that has until now been produced using shark liver. saving 2.7 million sharks annually
- Croda partnering with Botanical Solutions Inc (BSI) to produce QS-21, a sapornin previously produced using soap tree bark
- Both partnerships work toward Croda’s sustainability targets and manufacturing of next-gen vaccines.
Sustainability is a core philosophies of Croda. These two agreements are a step forward in the direction an will boost the effectiveness of vaccine antigens.
The first agreement is about producing a sustainable version of squalene. It is added to vaccines to boost their immune response. This adjuvant has, till now, been mostly produced using shark liver.
The agreement with Amyris will make this adjuvant from sugarcane. The final product will be of similar quality and purity. This adjuvant is biotech grade and thus fit for broader use by the biotech industry or vaccine producers.
The second agreement is for sustainable production of QS-21, a saponin, another potent adjuvant added to vaccines. This molecule is known to boost immune response, thus making many vaccines much more effective. To date, the only source of this adjuvant has been soap tree bark, a highly unsustainable source.
The agreement with Botanical Solutions Inc (BSI) uses plant tissue culture that enables the production of high-purity QS-21.
“Our partnerships with Amyris and BSI perfectly align with Croda’s commitment to becoming the leading sustainable supplier of innovative ingredients in our growth markets. It also aligns with our pharmaceutical strategy to ‘Empower Biologics Delivery.’
Daniele Piergentili, President Life Sciences at Croda
These sustainably-sourced technologies complement a wide range of cGMP vaccine adjuvants already offered by Croda.
As per the first agreement, Amyris will manufacture and supply squalene to Croda. At the same time, Croda will license squalene technology from Amyris for marketing, distribution, and sale as an excipient or ingredient in formulated products for human and veterinary vaccines, drug delivery systems, or nucleic acid delivery systems. Leveraging its expertise in good manufacturing practices (GMP) for the pharmaceutical industry, Croda aims to expedite the commercialization of the final packaged squalene products to reach its extensive customer base.
The first agreement with Amyris is important, considering that it supplies 70% of the global squalene market. This will ultimately result in saving 2.7 million sharks annually. In the long run, this would significantly help meet the sustainability goals of the biotech industry.
Croda also announced a strategic collaboration agreement with BSI to establish a sustainable and scalable supply chain for QS-21. QS-21 is a potent vaccine adjuvant employed in various innovative adjuvant systems to develop vaccines against diseases like shingles, malaria, and tuberculosis. It is also crucial for promising new therapeutic vaccines and immunotherapy treatments, including those for cancer. BSI’s method is the most sustainable method to produce this adjuvant.
These new announcements followed earlier news of the expansion of Croda Pharma’s manufacturing capabilities on a global scale. These new agreements will allow it to meet its sustainability targets and help manufacture the next-gen of vaccines.
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