New company advances novel vaccines to better fight COVID-19 and other pathogens
FORT COLLINS, CO - VIC Technology Venture Development, LLC (VIC), announced today the formation of Colorado-based Solaris Vaccines, Inc., to advance a new vaccine development platform that can be used with coronavirus and other pathogens capable of causing pandemics. Traditional and emerging approaches to creating vaccines have limitations, and better options are urgently needed. The technology was developed by researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) and licensed through the Colorado State University Research Foundation (CSURF).
Solaris is applying a method previously used for inactivating pathogens in the blood supply to quickly produce safe and effective vaccines against viruses, bacteria and parasites under the trade name SolaVAX™. Instead of using potentially toxic chemicals to inactivate pathogens to create vaccines, this unique approach uses vitamin B2 and UV light to disrupt the genetic material while preserving immune-stimulating proteins.
“VIC is thrilled to create a new company focused solely on this exciting approach for generating novel vaccines for known and unknown infectious diseases,” said Michael Artinger, VIC executive vice president, managing director and interim CEO of Solaris. “In initial studies, SolaVAX™ is already demonstrating superior performance over current methods for producing vaccines, and—when combined with the improved safety and speed of the manufacturing process—could lead to a paradigm shift in how the world responds to threats to global health.”
Said CSU professor Raymond Goodrich: “As the co-inventor of SolaVAX™, it gives me great pleasure to see Solaris as our commercial partner. The technology has benefitted from significant focus and efforts from the Office of the Vice President for Research throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and from the federal government to several academic labs at CSU, resulting in exceptional proof-of-concept data and substantial commercial de-risking of the platform for application to pandemic diseases such as COVID-19.
“Given CSU Venture’s mandate to translate campus innovation into products with real-world impact, we are delighted to facilitate the formation of and investment in Solaris by VIC,” said Ajay Menon, president of CSURF. “It is an added bonus that the company is based in Fort Collins and will work closely with Dr. Goodrich and his team, as well as tap into the substantial vaccine-focused resources here in Northern Colorado.”
About Solaris Vaccines, Incorporated
Solaris Vaccines, Inc. was established in 2021 to address many of the challenges of creating vaccines in response to emerging threats to global human health. Current methods of developing and manufacturing vaccines have significant limitations. The Solaris SolaVAX™ approach uses riboflavin (vitamin B2) and UV light to rapidly and effectively inactivate pathogens, resulting in a new platform for creating vaccines against pathogens. Go to solarisvax.com to learn more.
About VIC Technology Venture Development, LLC
VIC Technology Venture Development, LLC, creates innovative companies with world-changing science- and engineering-based technologies. VIC carefully selects and licenses technologies from universities and research institutions around the world, then partners technology entrepreneurs with VIC’s team of business and technology experts and allocates seed capital through the global VIC Investor Network. VIC provides its portfolio companies with senior management expertise, extensive knowledge of technology startups and proven processes to execute business strategies including legal, financial, operations, marketing, capital acquisition, and technology management. For more information, please visit victech.com.
About CSU Ventures
CSU Ventures is the technology transfer unit of CSURF. As such, CSU Ventures actively supports and promotes the transfer of research and innovations from across the Colorado State University System (CSU Fort Collins, CSU Pueblo, and CSU Global) into the marketplace to benefit society. The company serves as a resource for CSU faculty, staff and students, and also to industry, entrepreneurs and investors seeking to further research or commercialize a technology that has originated within the CSU System. Details can be found at csuventures.org.