In this interview, our senior investment analyst, Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau, visited Pasadena, California, to meet with Arthur Young, CEO of InvVax, and tour their cutting-edge research facilities. Arthur shares how InvVax leverages unique genetic mapping and CRISPR technology to develop innovative vaccines targeting rapidly mutating viruses like influenza and hepatitis B, as well as cancer. Learn about InvVax’s recent successes, significant grant funding, and ambitious milestones for the coming years.
What does InvVax specialize in?
InvVax specializes in developing innovative vaccines and treatments aimed at pathogens and diseases that mutate rapidly, such as influenza, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and certain cancers. Our approach uniquely targets genomic regions resistant to mutation.
How does your approach differ from other companies working on vaccines?
Traditional flu vaccines target areas of viruses that frequently mutate, leading to limited effectiveness. InvVax uniquely targets invariant regions of the viral genome—areas that the virus cannot mutate without losing viability—significantly enhancing vaccine effectiveness.
You recently raised over $100,000 through WeFunder. How did that impact InvVax?
The funds raised helped significantly in managing essential overhead expenses that were not covered by our primary grant funding, ensuring continuity and stability in our research operations.
Could you elaborate on the grants you've received?
We received a $1.9 million grant from the Department of Defense for hepatitis B virus therapy, a $400,000 NIH grant for flu vaccine development, and a recent $1 million grant for an antibody project. These grants are crucial to advancing our diverse research programs.
What key milestones is InvVax targeting for 2025?Our major milestone is validating our influenza vaccine using the mRNA delivery method, akin to COVID-19 vaccines. Additionally, we aim to progress significantly in our hepatitis B and antibody research projects, achieving critical experimental validations.
Our major milestone is validating our influenza vaccine using the mRNA delivery method, akin to COVID-19 vaccines. Additionally, we aim to progress significantly in our hepatitis B and antibody research projects, achieving critical experimental validations.
What recent results have you found most exciting?
Our recent breakthrough with hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been particularly exciting. We successfully mapped the HBV genome, identifying mutation-resistant targets effectively cleaved by CRISPR technology, marking a significant advancement in our therapeutic development pipeline.
