Pipeline / 02 · Infectious Disease

HPV Prevention Program

Immune-targeting therapeutic design for cervical cancer prevention, with topical mucosal delivery at the primary site of transmission.

CERVICAL CANCER · THE GLOBAL REALITY A preventable cancer that still takes 340,000 lives a year. >95% of cervical cancers CAUSED BY HPV 340K women killed annually WORLDWIDE 85% of deaths occur IN LOW/MIDDLE-INCOME SETTINGS <25% vaccine coverage IN MANY HIGH-BURDEN REGIONS
The scale of the problem. HPV is responsible for more than 95% of cervical cancer cases. Vaccine coverage, where it is deployed, remains low in exactly the regions where the disease burden is highest.
Premise

The problem we are solving.

Human papillomavirus causes more than 95% of cervical cancers. Prophylactic vaccines protect against infection — but coverage remains uneven globally, and they do not help women already exposed. A therapeutic approach targeting persistent infection and early dysplasia remains an unmet medical need, particularly in regions where cervical cancer mortality is highest.

Cervical cancer kills more than 340,000 women annually, and the burden is overwhelmingly concentrated in low- and middle-income countries — where the very women most at risk have the least access to either screening or vaccination.

Approach

How we tackle it.

The HPV Prevention program builds on three of MACRO HRD's core platforms: functional peptide design for membrane-disrupting antiviral activity at the mucosal site of transmission; multi-specific antibody engineering for therapeutic targeting of HPV-positive cells; and topical / mucosal delivery formulations that meet women where they are, without infrastructure-heavy clinical visits.

The therapeutic intent is preventive in two senses: blocking new infection from establishing, and clearing persistent infection before progression to high-grade dysplasia. Programmatic deployment is designed for high-burden settings — including the partner sites at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the planned Lesotho SMPZ — where conventional vaccine cold-chain and screening infrastructure are limited.

PLATFORM INTEGRATION · HPV PROGRAM Four platforms, one mucosal intervention. FUNCTIONAL PEPTIDE Mucosal activity AH-D design for membrane-disrupting antiviral activity at the primary site of transmission. TARGETED LNP Topical delivery Lipid nanoparticle formulations engineered for mucosal residence time and epithelial uptake. AMBIENT LOGISTICS Cold-chain freedom PG-coated formulations for ambient storage and deployment in low-resource settings. KZN COHORT African partnership Trial design in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal — cohorts reflecting the populations most affected.
The HPV program is an integration of four MACRO HRD platforms — functional peptide design for mucosal activity, targeted LNP formulation, ambient cold-chain-free logistics, and African-cohort partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Capabilities

What makes this real.

01
Mucosal-site activity
Topical gel and spray formulations designed for the cervicovaginal site of HPV transmission, eliminating the need for systemic injection.
02
Therapeutic + preventive scope
Active against both new exposure and established persistent infection — extending the addressable population beyond prophylactic vaccine coverage.
03
Cold-chain independence
Formulation designed for ambient or mildly refrigerated stability, leveraging the Ambient Cell Logistics platform to enable deployment in low-infrastructure settings.
04
African-cohort partnership
Developed with the University of KwaZulu-Natal and planned for first-in-human trials at the Lesotho SMPZ, with cohort design reflecting the populations most affected.
Where It Connects

Part of an integrated platform.

01 · Platforms
Functional Peptide Platform
A library of 20,000+ engineered peptides for membrane penetration, targeted delivery, and biological modulation.
01 · Platforms
Multi-Specific Antibody Platform
Tri-specific antibody systems for precision targeting, immune recruitment, and viral escape prevention.
04 · Infrastructure
Ambient Cell Logistics
Room-temperature cell logistics — a bioinspired sporulation strategy that ends cold-chain dependency for cellular therapies.
04 · Infrastructure
Lesotho SMPZ
A sovereign Special Medical Practice Zone in Lesotho's eastern highlands — concentrating regulatory authority, GMP infrastructure, AI platforms, and CryoVault biobanking in a single jurisdiction.
⸻ Continue the platform

“A vaccine cannot reach the woman it was never offered to. Therapy can.”

See all ventures → Engage with MACRO HRD