Stablepharma's EIC Accelerator Takes the Fridge Out of Vaccines

The World Health Organization estimates that about half of the world's vaccines are wasted every year, largely because they get too warm somewhere between the factory and the arm. Stablepharma, based in Bath, reformulates existing vaccines so they do not need a fridge at all. Its lead product, SPVX02, is a thermostable version of Tetadif, a WHO-prequalified tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, made with a platform it calls StablevaX.

The EIC Accelerator selected the project, SUFFVSA40C, at its October 2024 cut-off as a grant-only award, and CORDIS records €2,499,999 from June 2025 to February 2027 to run a phase 2b trial with EU manufacturing, clinical and regulatory partners, seek EU market authorisation and extend the platform to more products. The company says StablevaX could apply to more than 60 approved vaccines.

The data, and who published it

On 6 August 2026 the University of Southampton announced the results of a world-first randomised phase I trial of a fridge-free tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, published in the Lancet group journal eClinicalMedicine. Sixty healthy adults took part at the NIHR clinical research facility in Southampton. The vaccine was well tolerated with no vaccine-related serious adverse events, and by day 28 every recipient had reached protective antibody levels against both tetanus and diphtheria, comparable to licensed vaccines.

The stability data is what makes it matter: at least two years at up to 30°C without losing effectiveness, with four-year testing under way, and full potency retained after three cycles between minus 20°C and plus 40°C. "Our study suggests that this vaccine can remain safe and effective without refrigeration," said Saul Faust of the University of Southampton, who led the study. That is a peer-reviewed result from a university and an NHS trust rather than a company claim, which puts Stablepharma in a small minority of this cut-off.

The trial the grant pays for

The EIC money is for the next step: a phase 2b trial, run with EU partners, to support market authorisation in Europe. The phase 2b received UK Health Research Authority approval in June 2026 and has launched, and the company expects to complete clinical development of SPVX02 by 2027. CORDIS shows no periodic report for the project.

Beyond the lead product, the company says it can reformulate other vaccines and is working with a partner on thermostabilising small-molecule oncology and anti-infective products. The platform claim, more than 60 approved vaccines, is the commercial story; one reformulated vaccine in humans is the evidence for it.

1. Thermostability without potency lossPublishedTwo years at 30°C and three cycles to plus 40°C.
2. Safety and immune response in humansPublished60 adults, all at protective antibody levels by day 28, eClinicalMedicine, August 2026.
3. Phase 2b trialLaunchedHRA approval in June 2026; no results.
4. EU market authorisationNot filedThe project's stated aim with EU regulatory partners.

Why this is worth €2.5 million of EU money

The cold chain is the single largest logistical cost and failure point in immunisation, and the countries where vaccination coverage is lowest are the ones where refrigeration is least reliable. The UK health minister's line at the announcement put it bluntly: children miss out "not due to a lack of vaccines, but a lack of refrigeration". A thermostable Td vaccine also has uses in rich countries: stockpiling without power, disaster response, and lower wastage in routine use. Tetanus and diphtheria is a sensible first target because, as the company says, it is the largest human vaccine market by dose volume outside the COVID-19 years.