AntoXa

What AntoXa does

AntoXa Corporation is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company, established in 2017 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of PlantForm Corporation, that develops plant-made medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threat agents. The company's technology foundation is the proprietary vivoXPRESS® platform, licensed exclusively from PlantForm, which uses genetically engineered Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco) plants to produce complex recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies in less than six weeks, at manufacturing costs stated to be up to 90% lower than conventional mammalian cell culture systems, with mammalian-type glycosylation and unlimited scale-up capability. AntoXa's product portfolio is anchored by the PhD9 anti-ricin monoclonal antibody, developed under exclusive worldwide license from Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), and is expanding into recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) for nerve agent protection, hemopexin for chlorine gas exposure and sickle cell respiratory damage, plant-made recombinant ACE2 for COVID-19, and Ebola glycoprotein research. The company also holds granted and allowed patents in the U.S. and Canada covering the plant-based manufacturing process for PhD9.

AntoXa's go-to-market is exclusively government and military: its primary customers are Canadian, American, and Australian departments of defence, and its products are intended for inclusion in national strategic stockpiles such as the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (which has received approximately US$50 billion since 2001). Revenue today is generated through R&D contracts and grants from DRDC and allied defense agencies rather than commercial product sales, with cumulative contract funding of more than CAD $3.8 million secured to date. Distribution outside North America and Australia is being established via an exclusive strategic collaboration with Belgium-based SwiftPharma, which holds EMEA-exclusive rights to manufacture, obtain regulatory approvals, and commercialize PhD9 and has committed up to US$15 million in development financing. AntoXa is currently seeking Series A funding of $5 million to advance product opportunities and a Series B round of $15 million to establish a dedicated Canadian manufacturing facility.

Name

AntoXa

Legal name

AntoXa Corporation

Website

https://antoxacorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AntoXa Corporation is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company developing plant-made medical countermeasures — including the PhD9 anti-ricin antibody, nerve agent bioscavengers, and lung-injury therapeutics — for sale to government defense agencies and strategic national stockpiles worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

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. Government Contracts and Medical Countermeasure Sales: AntoXa generates revenue through government defense contracts for development of medical countermeasures and anticipates commercializing biopharmaceutical products for national stockpiles held by government agencies. The company has secured approximately CAD $3.8-4 million in contracts from Canadian, American, and Australian defense departments.
2. Contract Drug Development and Manufacturing Services: AntoXa conducts contract drug development work and manufacturing services for other organizations, including the Government of Canada and international pharmaceutical companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AntoXa is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company developing plant-made medical countermeasures—including monoclonal antibodies and enzyme drugs—against biological and chemical threats such as ricin, nerve agents (sarin, soman), and chlorine gas, using the proprietary vivoXPRESS® plant-based manufacturing platform licensed from parent company PlantForm Corporation. The company's products target government defense agencies, military organizations, and strategic national stockpiles in Canada, the United States, Australia, and EMEA.

Product overview

AntoXa Corporation is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats. The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of PlantForm Corporation and holds an exclusive license to the proprietary vivoXPRESS plant-based manufacturing platform. The product portfolio centers on three core biopharmaceutical products: PhD9 Anti-Ricin Antibody for neutralizing ricin exposure, Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) for protection against nerve agents such as sarin and soman, and Hemopexin for treating respiratory damage from sickle cell disease and chlorine gas exposure. Additional pipeline products include recombinant ACE2 for potential COVID-19 treatment and Ebola countermeasures. The company is also advancing these products through strategic collaborations, including an exclusive partnership with SwiftPharma for EMEA market development of the PhD9 anti-ricin antibody. All products are produced using the plant-based vivoXPRESS manufacturing platform, which enables production in less than six weeks at significantly reduced costs compared to traditional mammalian cell culture systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PhD9 Anti-Ricin Antibody A plant-made monoclonal antibody drug candidate developed under license from Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) that prevents ricin from penetrating cells. Produced using the vivoXPRESS® tobacco-plant-based platform as an antidote to ricin exposure, a Category B bioterrorism threat for which no approved antidote currently exists. Being advanced under an exclusive worldwide license from DRDC and an exclusive EMEA partnership with SwiftPharma.
• Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) A recombinant enzyme bioscavenger providing broad-spectrum protection against nerve agents such as sarin and soman. Produced as a high-yield, low-cost protein using the plant-based vivoXPRESS® platform, supported by contracts from Defence Research and Development Canada and ongoing research collaborations with universities including Ryerson and University of Victoria.
• Recombinant Human Hemopexin An innovative enzyme drug candidate for treating respiratory damage caused by sickle cell disease and exposure to toxic halogens such as chlorine gas. Produced using the plant-based vivoXPRESS® platform; research with the University of Alabama at Birmingham has shown recombinant human hemopexin equally effective in reversing lung and mitochondrial injury caused by chlorine gas exposure.
• Recombinant Human ACE2 Plant-made recombinant human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) being developed as a potential drug candidate for COVID-19. ACE2 is the SARS-CoV-2 receptor and the candidate is designed to block the spike protein from attaching to healthy cells. Developed under contract with Defence Research and Development Canada.
• Ebola Sudan Glycoproteins Filovirus glycoproteins developed using the vivoXPRESS® platform to express antigens for research aimed at improving understanding of Ebola virus infection mechanisms and enhancing immune responses to existing vaccines.

Quantifiable outcome

• Manufacturing costs up to 90% lower than mammalian cell technology systems
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SwiftPharma (NATO Presentation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 2024Joint presentation to NATO Biological Defense Medical Expert Panel (BIO DEF MED) on September 19, 2024 in Tournai, Belgium to provide update on development and commercialization of plant-made anti-ricin antibody.
• SwiftPharmacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 September 2023Exclusive strategic collaboration for development and commercialization of plant-made PhD9 anti-ricin antibody. AntoXa to transfer mAb manufacturing knowhow to SwiftPharma, with SwiftPharma granted exclusive rights to manufacture, obtain regulatory approvals, promote, market, distribute, and sell the mAb within Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). SwiftPharma to provide US$15 million financing to complete development. SwiftPharma will use their GMP manufacturing facility in Belgium for clinical trials and commercial sale.
• Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 August 2021Contract extension from Government of Canada for development of plant-made recombinant human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as potential coronavirus treatment, as well as continued development of plant-made BuChE. Total project value increased to $828,712.38 over three years.
• Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration with DRDC for development of medical countermeasures including PhD9 anti-ricin antibody and BuChE for nerve agents. AntoXa holds exclusive license from DRDC to develop and produce countermeasures for global markets. DRDC has funded more than $600,000 (CAD) since 2014 for anti-ricin program. DRDC conducted in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrating therapeutic efficacy.
• University of Alabama at BirminghamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on hemopexin demonstrating that recombinant human hemopexin generated in plants using vivoXPRESS platform was equally effective in reversing lung and mitochondrial injury caused by exposure to chlorine gas.
• University of New Mexico (Dr. Steven Bradfute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with AntoXa's parent company PlantForm Corporation to advance research on Ebola virus using vivoXPRESS platform to express filovirus glycoproteins for studies aimed at improving understanding of infection mechanisms and developing more effective immune responses.
• University of Alberta (Dr. Warren Wakarchuk)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrevious collaboration between DRDC, PlantForm and University of Alberta scientist Dr. Warren Wakarchuk for BuChE work supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
• Ryerson University (Dr. Warren Wakarchuk) and University of Victoria (Dr. Alisdair Boraston)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for evaluation of multiple BuChE drug candidates and development of manufacturing process using vivoXPRESS technology.
• University of Guelph (Dr. J. Christopher Hall)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with J.C. Hall laboratory at University of Guelph for development and production of plant-made PhD9 anti-ricin antibody. Dr. Hall is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of PlantForm Corporation and University Professor Emeritus with expertise in plant-based pharmaceutical production.
• PlantForm CorporationcoreOthersAntoXa is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PlantForm Corporation. AntoXa holds exclusive license to the vivoXPRESS biopharmaceutical manufacturing platform from PlantForm to produce countermeasures for ricin, sarin, soman, and other biodefense therapeutics.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• iBio: iBio is a plant-based biopharmaceutical company using its own FastPharming and Glycaneering platforms in Nicotiana benthamiana to develop antibodies and therapeutic proteins. Like AntoXa, it leverages low-cost, rapidly scalable plant-expression technology to produce complex biologics, including in biodefense-adjacent programs.
• Mapp Biopharmaceutical: Mapp Biopharmaceutical is a private biodefense company best known for ZMapp, a monoclonal antibody cocktail for Ebola. AntoXa's PhD9 program targets the same biodefense mAb countermeasure space with a plant-based manufacturing twist, directly comparable in therapeutic area and customer base.
• Medicago: Medicago (now part of Mitsubishi Chemical, previously majority-owned by Philip Morris) used plant-based transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana to produce virus-like particle vaccines, including a COVID-19 vaccine. It is the most commercially advanced plant-made biopharma peer, demonstrating the same platform architecture as AntoXa's vivoXPRESS.
• Bavarian Nordic: Bavarian Nordic is a public Danish biodefense company with FDA-approved smallpox (Jynneos) and Ebola (Ervebo) vaccines, primarily sold to government stockpiles globally. It represents a larger, more commercially established biodefense countermeasure peer with overlapping government customers and product categories.
• Protalix BioTherapeutics: Protalix is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that manufactures therapeutic proteins using its ProCellEx plant-cell-based platform (carrot cells). It markets Elelyso for Gaucher disease and has an FDA-approved plant-made biologic, making it the closest commercially validated peer to AntoXa's plant-based manufacturing approach.
• Elusys Therapeutics: Elusys is a private biodefense company that developed Anthim (obiltoxaximab), an FDA-approved monoclonal antibody for inhalational anthrax. It sells directly into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile and other biodefense procurement programs—the same primary customer channel AntoXa is targeting with PhD9.
• Kentucky BioProcessing: Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP) is a contract biomanufacturer specializing in plant-based expression of proteins and antibodies in Nicotiana benthamiana, and was contracted to produce ZMapp for Mapp Biopharmaceutical. It uses the same plant-host manufacturing approach as AntoXa and represents a peer in the plant-made pharmaceutical ecosystem.
• SIGA Technologies: SIGA is a public biodefense company that developed TPOXX (tecovirimat), an FDA-approved smallpox antiviral stockpiled by the U.S. and other governments. It is a directly comparable medical countermeasure peer selling exclusively into government biodefense stockpiles.

Emerging players

• GreenLight Biosciences: GreenLight Biosciences is a public company using plant-based and cell-free bioprocesses to produce RNA products, including mRNA. It is a plant-based biomanufacturing peer with overlap in scalable, low-cost production of complex biologicals, though focused on RNA rather than protein antibodies like AntoXa.

Broad incumbents

• Emergent BioSolutions: Emergent BioSolutions is the largest pure-play biodefense company, with a portfolio including BioThrax (anthrax vaccine), ACAM2000 (smallpox), and numerous stockpile products. It acquired Cangene Corporation (where AntoXa CEO Don Stewart previously led antibody programs), making it both a competitor and a historical talent pipeline for AntoXa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/antoxacorp
• Facebookfacebook.com/AntoXaCorp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/antoxa-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 AntoXa