Oxford SimCell

Startup

Oxford SimCell Ltd. is a biotechnology spinout from the University of Oxford and the exclusive licensee of SimCell technology, which was developed in the laboratory of our co-founder, Prof. Wei Huang. SimCell technology lets us put a new spin on a very traditional kind of vaccine – inactivated whole bacterial cells – which we use to protect against bacterial pathogens. Our vaccines can be used as alternative countermeasures against critical bacteria that don't respond to antibiotic drugs, including Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this way, we aim to both improve individual patient outcomes and help to tackle the overarching global challenge of antimicrobial resistance. SimCells themselves are genome-free bacteria, produced by expression of a nuclease in host bacteria that cuts the bacterial genome. This process renders the bacteria unable to replicate but preserves important immunogenic cell surface features. These SimCells, which cannot grow but which are otherwise identical to their live counterparts, are ideal for use as inactivated whole-cell vaccines; SimCell vaccines exhibit a full complement of cell surface antigens in their native conformation and context, generating a comprehensive immune response.