
Oral Respiratory viral Vaccine Platform for Respiratory Pathogens
Overview
Biotav Shield is developing a platform for orally delivered live attenuated vaccines targeting respiratory viral pathogens. The technology is designed to induce durable mucosal and systemic immunity, addressing key limitations of current injectable vaccines — including limited transmission blocking, waning immunity, and complex global deployment.
The lead program is a live attenuated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, developed to seed-material stage, demonstrating platform feasibility.
The Platform
Biotav Shield combines three core elements into a unified vaccine platform:
- Non-recombinant live attenuation via artificial selection
- A proprietary genetic stability marker for safety and control
- Oral enteric capsule delivery targeting mucosal immunity
This enables:
- Controlled attenuation without genetic engineering
- Built-in monitoring of viral stability and reversion risk
- Induction of mucosal (IgA) and systemic immune responses
- Needle-free, scalable administration
Why Mucosal Immunity Matters
Respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, infect via mucosal surfaces. Current injectable vaccines:
- Induce primarily systemic immunity
- Do not effectively block infection or transmission
- Require repeated boosting
Biotav Shield’s approach is designed to:
- Block infection at the point of entry
- Reduce viral transmission
- Provide longer-lasting immunity
- Enable population-level protection
- Technology Differentiation
- Live attenuated SARS-CoV-2 developed via artificial selection (non-GMO approach)
- Seed material established with reproducible attenuation
- Proprietary genetic stability marker enabling:
- Reversion risk monitoring
- Manufacturing consistency
- Regulatory confidence
- Oral enteric capsule formulation for targeted intestinal delivery
- Platform Potential
The technology is extensible beyond COVID-19 to:
- Influenza
- Emerging coronaviruses
- Other respiratory viral pathogens
- Selected enteric diseases
- Positioning Biotav Shield as a platform company, not a single-asset vaccine developer.
Development Status
✔ Live attenuated strain generated
✔ Seed material established
✔ Stability marker identified
✔ Provisional patent application filed
⏳ IND-enabling studies planned
Market Opportunity
The global vaccine market remains multi-billion USD with persistent unmet needs:
- Variant escape
- Booster fatigue
- Limited access in low-resource settings
Oral vaccines enable:
- Needle-free mass vaccination
- Simplified logistics
- Improved global access
- Pandemic preparedness scalability
Funding
Raising $4–6M (Seed / Pre-Series A)
Use of Funds:
- Preclinical safety and efficacy studies
- GMP process development
- Oral formulation optimization
- IND-enabling studies
Vision
To establish a leading platform for oral, mucosal live vaccines addressing global respiratory infectious diseases.