QS-21, without the tree.
Billions-of-doses-per-year scale at a fraction of the cost.
Simple, sustainable saponins at scale.
Our cultured plant cell-derived version of QS-21 ("cpcQS-21") is produced at >90% purity through a repeatable, environmentally-friendly cGMP process2.
Current QS-21 supply is complicated and constrained.
All QS-21 is currently harvested from the bark of Quillaja saponaria1, grown in Chile. Reliance on bark extract results in complex production methods, driving up costs and limiting scalability1,2.
This limits saponin adjuvants to a small number of high-cost vaccines — keeping them out of the pandemic-scale, lower-cost vaccines that could give far more people a more durable, more effective immune response.
Fewer steps, less environmental harm, more adjuvant to drive vaccine activity & durability
SaponiQx replaces the tree with cultured plant cells1. This dramatically lowers the cost, simplifies production, and is highly scalable.
Cell line
Cultured Quillaja saponaria plant cells, grown from a banked cell line rather than harvested bark.
Fermentation
The cells grow in bioreactors and produce saponins in culture.
Extraction
Saponins are recovered from the harvested cell biomass.
Purification
Chromatography separates QS-21 from related saponins.
cpcQS-21
Purified QS-21 drug substance, made under cGMP.
Interested in cpcQS-21?
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News
January 30th, 2025