Case Study: Debiopharm finds a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine solution with Wazoku

Debiopharm engages 133 solvers with Wazoku to find a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine

Debiopharm, a Swiss biopharmaceutical company, sought a way to develop a single-dose version of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to simplify vaccination logistics and improve stability. They engaged Wazoku, using its open innovation platform (specifically a Theoretical Challenge on its InnoCentive network) to crowdsource solutions from a global community of solvers.

Wazoku managed the process, receiving and evaluating 40 submitted proposals. Two winning solutions were selected: one for stabilizing the vaccine at higher temperatures and another for improving RNA transfection. The winning solvers were awarded $40,000, and Debiopharm's internal team won a company award for innovation. The engagement successfully connected Debiopharm with novel research avenues and specific technical ideas to advance their vaccine development goal.

Debiopharm