Sementis

Sementis Ltd is an Australian unlisted public biotechnology company based in Adelaide, South Australia and dedicated to research and development of new vaccines to tackle viruses and diseases globally. Sementis conducts it's research and development activities in partnership with the University of South Australia. We are using our proprietary Sementis Copenhagen Vector (SCV) and associated manufacturing system for the rapid development of effective vaccines to tackle infectious diseases of highest unmet medical needs as well as vaccines for pandemic preparedness. Our vaccine technology is also under evaluation for the prevention of allergies, with potential future applications also in cancer. Our lead vaccine candidates including a combination Zika-Chikungunya vaccine, a 'second generation' COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic vaccine for peanut allergy. The SCV system couples a genetically engineered, non-replicative viral vector with a genetically engineered commercial manufacturing cell-line. The genes of disease antigens can be easily added to the viral vector, allowing for rapid adaptation of the vaccine against a single or multiple diseases and then manufacture on a commercial scale. The SCV is derived from a vaccinia virus strain used to eradicate smallpox, and concerns about safety have been addressed through our targeted genetic attenuation, thus making SCV vectored vaccines safe for use. Vaccines made using SCV are grown in our proprietary Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, an industry standard cell line for large scale manufacturing with high yield and consistent batch quality. Extensive advanced pre-clinical studies have shown that vaccines using the SCV platform are safe and efficacious after a single vaccination, eliciting potent T and B-cell immunity, and long lasting protective vaccine immune response. We are now focussed on final GLP toxicology and immunogenicity studies in preparation for first in-human Phase I clinical trials.