-Sail Biomedicines, Inc. (“Sail” or the “Company”), a Flagship Pioneering company and leader in RNA-based programmable medicines, announced that the Company has received two grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance Sail’s first-in-category Endless RNA™ (eRNA™) platform to develop secreted monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and vaccines for malaria.

"We are delighted to kick off 2024 with new funding from the Gates Foundation. The World Health Organization estimates malaria kills more than 600,000 people worldwide each year. Funding from the foundation will support the potential of Sail’s platform and will enable us to continue to advance our cutting-edge eRNA, with the aim of developing a potent and durable vaccine and monoclonal antibody-based therapy for this deadly, widespread disease,” said Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D., MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Sail Biomedicines and CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering.

The agreements cover two grant programs. The first supports preclinical development of an eRNA-based vaccine for malaria, leveraging Sail’s first-in-category platform. This is based on innovative, translatable, circular RNA that, in preclinical studies, has demonstrated prolonged expression and greater immunogenicity than existing mRNA technology. The aim is to produce a malaria vaccine that drives potent and longer-lasting active immunity, and is potentially more efficacious, than existing options. If successful, the program could be the first of a broader portfolio of eRNA vaccines.

The second grant supports a groundbreaking effort to deliver eRNA that expresses a monoclonal antibody for the prevention of malaria. Sail’s eRNA technology platform enables prolonged expression of complex biologics, such as fully functional monoclonal antibodies that have the power to provide protection from pathogens - for example, malaria - with greater durability.

Together, an enhanced vaccine option for active immunity and monoclonal antibodies for passive immunity could provide an improved range of treatment options to be used in different settings.