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Immunity at the barrier, not just in the blood
Surgical site infections with Staphylococcus aureus are frequently endogenous: the infecting strain matches the patient's own nasal isolate. Pentamer's human vaccine is designed to interrupt that seeding at the source.
High-risk patients, no licensed vaccine
S. aureus remains a primary driver of wound sepsis and chronic osteomyelitis in combat-related trauma, and a leading cause of surgical site infection and dialysis-associated bloodstream infection. Surgical site infections are frequently endogenous — the infecting strain matches the patient's own nasal isolate. Topical decolonization clears the reservoir temporarily; recolonization follows, along with resistance pressure.
No licensed S. aureus vaccine exists for any population.
Where the infection starts
Intramuscular vaccination generates circulating IgG. It does not establish mucosal IgA or tissue-resident memory at the nasal and skin interfaces, which is exactly where colonization and wound contamination happen. Protecting a patient requires immunity at the barrier, not only in the blood.
The carrier is the delivery system
Route of delivery determines the quality of the response, not only its magnitude. The CTA2/B carrier is itself the delivery vehicle: the B-pentamer carries antigen to the barrier surfaces, establishing mucosal and barrier responses that intramuscular delivery does not. The lead route is a nasal spray.
Nasal spray
Intranasal delivery that establishes immunity at the nasal surface, where S. aureus colonizes before it infects.
A dissolvable microneedle patch is also being explored as a related delivery technology — see Technology.
Pentamer's human S. aureus vaccine, delivered by nasal spray, is preclinical and has not been evaluated by the FDA.
The bovine challenge trial is the closest evidence any preclinical S. aureus vaccine has to a clinical result: a large outbred animal, a live challenge, a control arm, and clinical readouts. It validates the carrier and the antigens in a real disease before a person is ever dosed.
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We are seeking collaborators for IND-enabling studies and non-dilutive funding pathways — SBIR/STTR, NIH, DoD, and state programs.