VLP Therapeutics

Name

VLP Therapeutics

Legal name

VLP Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://vlptherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceutical Vaccines

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Vaccine Technology Platforms (mRNA, viral vector, protein subunit, inactivated/live-attenuated, VLP, DNA) (HLAAAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Therapeutic Vaccines (cancer, chronic infection immunotherapy) (HLAAAEAB), mRNA Therapeutics (vaccines, protein replacement, immuno-oncology) (HLAAADAA), Therapeutic Vaccines (e.g., Cancer/Chronic Infection) (HLAIAEAG)

Keywords

• Virus-like particle vaccines
• Self-amplifying RNA therapeutics
• Cancer immunotherapy vaccines
• Infectious disease prophylaxis
• Biopharmaceutical R&D

Headquarters

HQ city

Gaithersburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Vaccine Development and Commercialization: As a pre-commercial biotech company, VLP Therapeutics is developing cancer treatment vaccines and prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases (malaria, dengue, COVID-19). Revenue would come from vaccine product sales upon regulatory approval.
2. Government and Foundation Grants: The company has received multiple grants from Gates Foundation ($2.8M for malaria), GHIT Fund ($3.9M for dengue, $960K early-stage, $6M for Phase I), AMED (Japan), and U.S. Army Medical Research ($2.4M). These fund R&D activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

VLP Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation prophylactic vaccines and cancer immunotherapies using proprietary virus-like particle (i-αVLP) and self-amplifying RNA (replicon) platform technologies. Its pipeline targets malaria (VLPM01), dengue (tetravalent VLP), COVID-19 (VLPCOV-02, VLPCOV-U-01, VLPCOV-04), seasonal influenza, and cancer (VLPONC-01), with multiple candidates in Phase 1–3 clinical trials in the U.S. and Japan.

Product overview

VLP Therapeutics is a biotech company developing a portfolio of prophylactic vaccines and therapeutic immunotherapies using three proprietary platform technologies: (1) i-αVLP (inserted alphavirus virus-like particle) for cancer and infectious disease vaccines, (2) Replicon (self-amplifying RNA) for COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, and (3) Native Virus Modification for dengue vaccines. The company operates two subsidiaries (US and Japan) and has multiple vaccine candidates in clinical development including malaria, dengue, COVID-19 variants, influenza, and cancer immunotherapies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VLPM01 Malaria Vaccine Pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccine delivering circumsporozoite antigen on the i-αVLP platform; first VLP Therapeutics candidate to enter human clinical trials for prevention of malaria.
• Tetravalent Dengue VLP Vaccine Novel tetravalent dengue virus-like particle vaccine using the Native Virus Modification platform to induce neutralizing antibodies against all four dengue serotypes; demonstrated efficacy in non-human primates.
• VLPCOV-02 SARS-CoV-2 saRNA Vaccine Self-amplifying RNA COVID-19 vaccine with modified 5-methylcytosine base, encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles; demonstrated lower reactogenicity and incidence of adverse events while inducing robust antibody and T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants in Phase 1/2 clinical trials.
• VLPCOV-U-01 Universal COVID-19 Vaccine Novel T-cell inducing mRNA COVID-19 vaccine designed as a universal vaccine against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants; targets conserved epitopes to overcome mutation-driven immune escape.
• VLPCOV-04 Omicron Booster Vaccine Self-amplifying replicon RNA COVID-19 booster vaccine targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant; entered Phase 3 clinical trial in Japan.
• VLPONC-01 Cancer Immunotherapy Cancer immunotherapy using VRP (virus-like replicon particle) technology, being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial at Stanford Medicine (NCT06736379) for oncology indications.
• Seasonal Influenza Replicon RNA Vaccine Seasonal influenza vaccine based on self-amplifying replicon RNA technology, being co-developed with the BIKEN Foundation and Denka Company under a collaborative research agreement and MoU for production and sales license.

Quantifiable outcome

• VLP Therapeutics' dengue vaccine demonstrated high levels of neutralizing antibodies and reduced replication for all four dengue serotypes in non-human primates
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered major and secondary.

• Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of MedicinemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2025Collaborative research demonstrating 5-methylcytidine incorporation in replicon saRNA vaccines suppresses innate immune responses while maintaining immunogenicity, published in Science Translational Medicine.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2025Collaborative research with NIH researchers on 5-methylcytidine technology for replicon mRNA vaccines.
• Nygen Analytics ABsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2025Swedish AI biotech partnership developing AI-driven predictive models for personalized cancer treatment selection, funded by Vinnova 1 million SEK grant.
• Stanford MedicinemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2025Clinical collaboration for Phase 1 trial of VLPONC-01 cancer immunotherapy using VRP technology at Stanford Health Care (NCT06736379).
• Stanford UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2025Collaborative research on lyophilized saRNA vaccines for microneedle array patch delivery published in Journal of Controlled Release.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel HillsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2025Collaborative research partner for microneedle array patch vaccine delivery technology.
• Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases of Osaka University (BIKEN Foundation)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2023Collaborative research agreement to develop seasonal influenza vaccine using replicon RNA technology. Also MoU for replicon RNA COVID-19 vaccine production and sales license.
• Denka Company LimitedmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2023Collaborative research agreement with VLPT Japan and BIKEN Foundation for seasonal influenza vaccine development using replicon RNA technology.
• Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhase I/IIa clinical trial of VLPM01 malaria vaccine conducted at WRAIR in Silver Spring, MD using controlled human malaria infection (CHMI) model.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration for dengue vaccine development. GHIT-funded project partners include Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
• Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration for dengue vaccine development. Demonstrated tetravalent dengue VLP vaccine efficacy in non-human primates.
• FUJIFILM CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContract manufacturing agreement for COVID-19 vaccine formulation. Fujifilm responsible for manufacturing lipid nanoparticle formulations containing replicon RNA.
• National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-authors on VLPCOV-02 saRNA vaccine research published in iScience. Supported by AMED Grant Number JP21nf0101627.
• National Center for Global Health and MedicinesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating institution for COVID-19 vaccine development with VLPT Japan.
• National Hospital Organization Nagoya Medical CentersecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical research partner for VLPCOV-02 vaccine studies.
• Hokkaido University School of MedicinesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner for VLPCOV-02 vaccine studies.
• National Institute of Infectious Diseases (Japan)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating partner for dengue VLP vaccine research demonstrating efficacy in non-human primates.
• National Cancer Center Research Institute (Japan)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration for cancer vaccine candidates using i-αVLP technology.
• Latham Biopharm GroupsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in GHIT-funded dengue vaccine development project.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GSK: GSK developed Mosquirix (RTS,S), the first WHO-recommended malaria vaccine, and maintains a large infectious disease vaccine portfolio. VLP Therapeutics' malaria vaccine program faces long-term competition from GSK's established franchise.
• Moderna: Moderna is a leading mRNA vaccine developer with an established commercial COVID-19 franchise and a broad pipeline spanning infectious disease and oncology. VLP Therapeutics' saRNA/replicon platform competes in the same RNA vaccine space, though Moderna operates at vastly greater scale with approved products.
• BioNTech: BioNTech co-developed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and is expanding into cancer immunotherapies and infectious disease mRNA vaccines. Both companies pursue mRNA/saRNA vaccine technologies targeting infectious diseases and oncology indications.
• Takeda Pharmaceutical: Takeda developed and commercialized Qdenga, the leading dengue vaccine approved in multiple jurisdictions. It is a key competitor to VLP Therapeutics' tetravalent dengue VLP vaccine program and is also a significant Japanese pharma stakeholder with overlapping investor networks.
• Emergent BioSolutions: Emergent BioSolutions is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on vaccines and biodefense — and the former employer of VLP Therapeutics' COO Jacob Licht. It provides an incumbent reference point for vaccines targeting infectious disease and public health threats.

Direct peers

• Novavax: Novavax develops recombinant nanoparticle vaccines (its Matrix-M adjuvant and protein-based VLP-like technology) for infectious diseases including COVID-19, influenza, and malaria. Both companies use virus-like-particle / recombinant particle approaches to display antigens and induce immune responses.
• Arcturus Therapeutics: Arcturus is a clinical-stage mRNA medicines company specializing in self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine technology for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. It is one of the closest direct competitors to VLP Therapeutics' replicon/saRNA platform.

Emerging players

• CureVac: CureVac is an mRNA technology company developing vaccines and therapeutics for infectious diseases and oncology, with a focus on improving mRNA stability and translation. It competes with VLP Therapeutics in the mRNA/saRNA vaccine space, particularly for COVID-19 and influenza applications.
• ImmunityBio: ImmunityBio is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing cancer vaccines and immune-stimulating therapies. Both companies pursue therapeutic cancer vaccines leveraging viral-vector or virus-like particle approaches to drive tumor-directed immune responses.

Others

• BIKEN Foundation (Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases of Osaka University): BIKEN is a Japanese vaccine research foundation that has a collaborative research agreement with VLPT Japan and Denka to develop seasonal influenza vaccines using replicon RNA technology. It functions as both a partner and an adjacent Japanese vaccine ecosystem player.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VLPtherapeutics
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZEpghEZh0P3-LZcC9nYZ1w
• Facebookfacebook.com/394709427407004
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vlp-therapeutics-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors9 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about VLP Therapeutics