Noxopharm Limited announced the development of a new proprietary product candidate based on mRNA technology as part of the company's SofraTM preclinical platform. A lead candidate has now been selected for further development. Under the ongoing collaboration with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, the team has synthesised a novel `vaccine enhancer' called SOF-VACTM.

This preclinical technology aims to make a broad range of mRNA vaccines safer by reducing inflammation associated with mRNA vaccines. In addition, the technology has the potential to support more cost-effective mRNA vaccine manufacturing. The team's recent development work on SOF-VACTM has shown strong in vitro and in vivo activity against inflammation.

SOF-VACTM represents a first-in-class achievement as the smallest known molecule of its type to have demonstrated this activity. The major advantage of such a small molecule is it reduces the risk of off-target effects compared to larger molecules of this type. In addition to the SOF-VACTM vaccine enhancement program, the team has also made significant progress in the drug development part of the SofraTM platform, advancing its inflammation drug program that includes the development of standalone treatments for autoimmune diseases such as lupus.