A collaboration to accelerate the development of next-generation RNA vaccines targeting high-impact livestock diseases has been forged between the Centre for Veterinary Vaccine Innovation and Manufacturing (CVIM) and biopharmaceutical company Tiba Biotech.
Supported by funding from the Gates Foundation, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the collaboration is part of a broader effort to strengthen global vaccine innovation capacity, leveraging leading research at The Pirbright Institute alongside advanced manufacturing infrastructure at CVIM, based on the Pirbright site.
The joint project will initially focus on molecular characterization of an RNA-based vaccine candidate for foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) developed using Tiba’s proprietary RNABL™ delivery platform. This vaccine was previously shown to confer complete protection against challenge infection in cattle. In parallel, the collaboration will explore the application of Tiba’s RNABL platform against other livestock vaccine targets.
Together, the teams will characterize antigen expression and evaluate immunogenicity across multiple RNA vaccine formats, including self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA), with the goal of identifying lead candidates for further development in livestock species such as cattle, swine, and sheep.
“This collaboration represents a major step forward in applying RNA technology to global animal health challenges,” said Dr Jasdave Chahal, Chief Scientific Officer of Tiba Biotech. “By combining our delivery platform with Pirbright’s world-class expertise in livestock virology, we aim to unlock scalable, effective vaccine solutions that can be rapidly deployed where they are needed most.”
Professor Bryan Charleston MRCVS FRS, Director and CEO of The Pirbright Institute, said:
“We are excited to partner with Tiba Biotech on this important initiative which allows us to explore the full potential of RNA vaccine technologies for livestock diseases and aligns with our mission to improve global animal health and food security.”
Dr Julian Seago, CVIM Process Development and Facility Lead, said:
“CVIM’s expertise covers mRNA and saRNA design, helping collaborators develop high-quality, cost-effective vaccines within our new GMP facility, which opens later this year.”
A central goal of the collaboration is to enable affordable and scalable vaccine solutions for livestock in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), supporting global efforts to improve food security and economic resilience. The technologies and manufacturing approaches developed through this partnership are also expected to have broad applicability in higher-income markets, where there is increasing demand for rapid-response, cost-efficient, and scalable vaccine platforms.
This unique public–private global initiative builds on ongoing collaborations with Australia’s Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Germany’s Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI). The FMD vaccine development was previously supported by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development of Australia, building on earlier work funded through the Livestock Vaccine Innovation Fund (LVIF), a Gates Foundation program managed by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada.