Uvax Bio

What Uvax Bio does

Uvax Bio is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2018 and based in Newark, Delaware, that develops vaccines using its proprietary 1c-SApNP® (Single-component Self-Assembling Protein Nanoparticle) vaccine platform. The platform displays 20 stabilized trimers or 60 monomers on 45–70 nm multilayered protein nanoparticles — an architecture modelled on virus-like particles such as the HPV vaccine — and incorporates a glycan-trimming approach recognized by IUPAC as one of the Top Ten Emerging Technologies in Chemistry in 2023. The platform was developed by co-founder and CSO Dr. Jiang Zhu at Scripps Research and is licensed into Uvax Bio. Lead clinical assets are HIV-1 vaccine candidates UVAX-1107 and UVAX-1197, which are in a Phase 1 trial in Australia under NIH sponsorship and showed 100% vaccine-matched IgG antibody responses after two priming doses in interim results announced in November 2024. The pipeline also includes preclinical or earlier-stage candidates targeting MERS (CEPI-funded, March 2025), COVID-19 (Uvax-2129), pandemic influenza, RSV, hMPV, and Lassa virus.

The company's business model is grant- and milestone-driven rather than commercial: revenue and operating capital are sourced primarily from non-dilutive government and philanthropic funding — over $10M from NIH for HIV-1, $2.6M from CEPI for MERS, and Gates Foundation support — supplemented by an earlier Series A financing (~$20M raised in September 2020). Limited commercial revenue is generated through a partnership with ProLiant Health & Biologicals to commercialize recombinant albumin, DNase-1, and growth factors launched in 2025. Uvax Bio does not maintain traditional product distribution; clinical development is conducted through contract research organizations (Avance Clinical, Nucleus Network), and the Scientific Advisory Board — which includes 2023 Nobel laureate Drew Weissman — provides scientific credibility for institutional partnerships.

Customer-facing activity is concentrated on global-health and government purchasers (NIH, CEPI, Gates Foundation, government health ministries) and a small set of bioprocessing partners such as ProLiant. Go-to-market relies on scientific conference presentations (World Vaccine Congress, ID Week), peer-reviewed publications (Nature Communications, Science Advances), and partnership cultivation rather than traditional sales channels. Leadership transitioned in February 2025 with Kevin O'Neill appointed Interim CEO, succeeding Ji Li, Ph.D., while Dr. Jiang Zhu continues as scientific lead.

Name

Uvax Bio

Legal name

Uvax Bio, LLC

Website

https://uvaxbio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Uvax Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing vaccines against HIV-1, MERS, COVID-19, RSV, hMPV, Lassa, and pandemic influenza using its proprietary 1c-SApNP® self-assembling protein nanoparticle platform, serving global-health funders such as NIH, CEPI, and the Gates Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vaccine Development (Biotechnology)

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

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

Adult Vaccines (HLAIAEAB), Vaccine Adjuvants & Formulation Systems (HLAIAEAI)

Keywords

• Protein nanoparticle vaccines
• Clinical-stage biotechnology
• Infectious disease vaccines
• HIV vaccine development
• Vaccine platform technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Newark

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Licensing Royalties: The company licenses its proprietary 1c-SApNP® platform technology from Scripps Research and generates revenue through licensing arrangements with partners including ProLiant Health & Biologicals for recombinant albumin products.
2. Government Grants: Over $10M in NIH funding supports GMP production of HIV-1 vaccine candidate through clinical trials. Additional Gates Foundation and CEPI funding for specific vaccine programs including MERS coronavirus vaccine.
3. Product Revenue: Commercialization of recombinant albumin products through ProLiant Health & Biologicals partnership, along with DNase-1 and growth factors launched in 2025.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Uvax Bio is a clinical-stage vaccine company that develops vaccine candidates using its proprietary 1c-SApNP® single-component self-assembling protein nanoparticle platform. Lead candidates include HIV-1 vaccines UVAX-1107 and UVAX-1197 (Phase 1), a COVID-19 vaccine (Uvax-2129), and a MERS coronavirus vaccine in preclinical development, with additional pipeline targets for RSV, hMPV, Lassa, and pandemic influenza.

Product overview

Uvax Bio is a clinical-stage vaccine company with a single unified product platform—the 1c-SApNP® protein nanoparticle vaccine technology—supplemented by specific vaccine product candidates developed on that platform. The portfolio includes HIV-1 vaccine candidates (UVAX-1107 and UVAX-1197) which are in Phase 1 clinical trials, a COVID-19 vaccine candidate (Uvax-2129), and a MERS coronavirus vaccine in preclinical development with CEPI funding. The platform also supports pipeline vaccines for pandemic influenza, RSV, hMPV, and Lassa virus. The core 1c-SApNP® platform enables rational antigen design through structure-based approaches that stabilize prefusion conformations, displaying antigen trimers on multilayered protein nanoparticles (45-70nm) for enhanced immune responses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 1c-SApNP® Vaccine Platform Proprietary multilayered self-assembling protein nanoparticle platform that displays 20 stabilized trimers or 60 monomers on 45–70 nm particles to elicit protective immune responses against infectious diseases threatening global health; developed by Dr. Jiang Zhu and licensed from Scripps Research.
• UVAX-1107 HIV-1 Vaccine Clinical-stage HIV-1 vaccine candidate built on the 1c-SApNP® platform; Phase 1 interim analysis showed safety, tolerability, and robust vaccine-matched IgG antibody responses in 100% of subjects after two priming doses.
• UVAX-1197 HIV-1 Vaccine Clinical-stage HIV-1 vaccine candidate using the 1c-SApNP® platform, evaluated alongside UVAX-1107 in the Phase 1 clinical trial in Australia.
• Uvax-2129 COVID-19 Vaccine Recombinant protein nanoparticle vaccine candidate for COVID-19 built on the 1c-SApNP® platform; preclinical and early data showed promise against multiple variants of concern.
• MERS Coronavirus Vaccine MERS coronavirus vaccine candidate using the 1c-SApNP® platform to mimic the size and shape of the MERS virus and trigger enhanced immune response; currently advancing into preclinical trials with CEPI funding.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of subjects showed robust vaccine-matched IgG antibody responses after two priming doses of UVAX-1107 in Phase 1 interim analysis
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• ProLiant Health & BiologicalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for recombinant albumin products. Uvax Bio launched recombinant albumin through this partnership as one of its first commercial products.
• Scripps ResearchcoreTechnology or IntegrationLicensing partner for 1c-SApNP® platform technology developed by Dr. Jiang Zhu, Associate Professor at Scripps Research and Co-founder/CSO of Uvax Bio. Ongoing research collaboration including work with The Scripps Research Institute.
• Avance ClinicalminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAustralia-based clinical research organization contracted to conduct Phase 1 clinical trials for HIV-1 vaccine candidates.
• Nucleus NetworkminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAustralian clinical study site for Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating HIV-1 vaccine candidates in healthy volunteers.
• Drew WeissmanmajorOthersScientific Advisory Board member since company inception. 2023 Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine for mRNA vaccine research at UPenn. Provides scientific guidance and credibility.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Moderna: mRNA vaccine platform with broad infectious-disease pipeline including HIV-1 (with IAVI/NIAID) and pandemic influenza programs. Overlaps with Uvax Bio's HIV-1 and pandemic preparedness targets but uses a different (mRNA) delivery modality at vastly greater scale.
• CureVac: mRNA-based vaccine developer with infectious disease pipeline. Competes for the same NIH/CEPI/global health funding flows as Uvax Bio, though at much larger scale and with different modality.

Emerging players

• GeoVera Labs: Clinical-stage recombinant nanoparticle vaccine company developing vaccines against tick-borne diseases and other infectious threats. Smaller-scale peer using protein subunit/nanoparticle approaches similar to Uvax Bio.
• Emergex Vaccines: Clinical-stage T-cell vaccine company using synthetic peptide nanoparticle platforms targeting infectious diseases. Comparable to Uvax Bio as a small clinical-stage platform biotech with infectious disease focus.
• BlueWater Vaccines: Clinical-stage vaccine company developing nanoparticle-based vaccines against influenza, streptococcus, and other infectious diseases. Comparable as a small, nanoparticle-focused clinical vaccine developer.

Others

• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI): Non-profit product development partnership focused on HIV vaccines and other infectious diseases. Functions as both a potential funder/partner for Uvax Bio and a parallel developer of HIV-1 vaccine candidates via academic and industry collaborations.
• Scripps Research (Translational Institute): Academic institution where the 1c-SApNP® platform was developed and from which Uvax Bio licenses its core IP. Functions as research collaborator, IP licensor, and originator of next-generation platform variants relevant to Uvax Bio's pipeline.

Direct peers

• VBI Vaccines: Develops virus-like particle (VLP) and enveloped VLP vaccine platforms targeting infectious diseases including COVID-19 and hepatitis B. Comparable to Uvax Bio's VLP-mimicking nanoparticle architecture for antigen display.
• Novavax: Protein-based recombinant nanoparticle vaccine developer (Matrix-M adjuvant + spike nanoparticles). Most directly comparable to Uvax Bio's 1c-SApNP® platform in terms of using self-assembling protein nanoparticles to display antigens for infectious disease vaccines.
• Osivax: Clinical-stage biotech developing oligoDOM® self-assembling nanoparticle vaccines for universal influenza and other infectious diseases. Closely comparable platform technology (self-assembling protein nanoparticle display) and target indications (pandemic influenza).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uvax-bio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Uvax Bio