Developing a novel norovirus vaccine candidate with INTEGRA pipettes

INTEGRA Biosciences has awarded 50 EVOLVE manual pipettes, GRIPTIPS® pipette tips worth US $1000 and various lab accessories to HilleVax, helping to advance its pioneering research into norovirus vaccine development. The prize – part of the recent ‘INTEGRA supports start-ups’ competition, which concluded in April 2023 – will provide the company with the resources needed to accelerate its vaccine candidate to licensure.

HilleVax was founded to develop novel vaccines as a powerful means of addressing health inequalities and equalizing care for patients around the world. The start-up stems from a collaboration between Frazier Healthcare and Takeda, and aims to continue the development of HIL-214, a promising virus-like particle vaccine candidate for norovirus that is now in Phase II clinical trials.

The company is currently in the process of establishing its laboratory to advance HIL-214 development, and is thrilled to have won the ‘INTEGRA supports start-ups’ competition. Dr Erika Olson, Senior Scientist in the company’s Clinical Assay Group, explained: “I have always had great experiences working with INTEGRA products in the past; the pipettes are ergonomic, easy to program, and work beautifully every time. Having access to a broad pipetting volume range will help to ensure that we obtain the highest efficiency and quality of results, and the GRIPTIPS give us confidence that the tips are securely attached. In addition, the ability of EVOLVE pipettes to switch from the lowest to the highest volume in just a few clicks is a very unique aspect that – along with the lightweight design and low tip attachment and ejection forces – significantly improves ergonomics to reduce repetitive strain injuries. We are really excited to get started and put the pipettes to work.”

Read more about HilleVax and how it will use INTEGRA’s liquid handling solutions.