Bluegrass Pharmaceuticals develops advanced Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) to enhance vaccine efficacy and enable targeted therapeutic delivery.
Bluegrass Pharmaceuticals is a discovery-stage biotech company dedicated to advancing the next generation of Lipid Nanoparticles for superior vaccination efficacy.
While vaccines remain a cornerstone of modern medicine, innovation in protein-based vaccines—which represent over 50% of all vaccines administered—has lagged behind the recent mRNA surge. Current protein-based vaccines rely on aluminum salts (a technology dating back to the 1930s) to boost immune response, yet many still require multiple doses for lasting protection.
Multi-dose regimens are the primary reason patients fail to complete vaccination protocols. Even mRNA vaccines, while promising, currently demand costly cold-chain logistics and multiple doses.
Bluegrass is commercializing BLITz-003, a first-of-its-kind lipid nanoparticle designed to replace aluminum salts in protein-based vaccines. Preliminary data show BLITz-003 not only serves as an effective adjuvant but can reduce the number of required doses while driving stronger, longer-lasting immunity.
With protein-based vaccines comprising the majority of the >$40 billion global vaccine market, BLITz-003 represents a disruptive innovation poised to improve global vaccination rates and public health outcomes.
Leadership Team
- Ben Register – CEO and Co-Founder
U.S. Air Force Academy graduate (BS in Economics) and former Navy SEAL officer with over 10 years of service. Holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. Experienced in pre-clinical therapeutic development. As the company’s only full-time employee, leads business development, regulatory strategy, and operations. - Dr. Vince Venditto – Co-Founder and Scientific Lead
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Earned PhD in Chemistry from Texas A&M University and completed NIH postdoctoral training in vaccine development at UCSF under Dr. Francis Szoka (creator of Doxil®). Inventor of the BLITz platform and responsible for leading all research and development efforts.
Bluegrass’s strategy centers on out-licensing BLITz-003 to established pharmaceutical partners for clinical development and commercialization.
Each validated BLITz-003 combination with a commercially relevant antigen creates a new licensing opportunity. Key target applications include:
- HPV Vaccines (e.g., Gardasil-9 by Merck)
>$5 billion annual revenue market using virus-like particles (VLPs). Demonstrating strong immunogenicity with a potential single-dose regimen would create substantial societal and shareholder value (current completion rate ~60%). - Pneumococcal Vaccines (e.g., Prevnar by Pfizer)
~$5 billion annual revenue market using aluminum salts + polysaccharide conjugates. Superior performance with BLITz-003 could unlock exclusive partnership opportunities.
Licensing revenue will fuel further development of novel lipids for mRNA and small-molecule delivery applications.
Bluegrass will generate revenue primarily through licensing agreements and strategic partnerships with major vaccine developers.
Investment Opportunity
Bluegrass is raising a $1 million SAFE round to advance BLITz-003 through critical pre-clinical and regulatory milestones.
Use of Proceeds
| Priority | Focus Area | Lead |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evaluate BLITz-003 efficacy across diverse protein types (toxoids, polysaccharide conjugates, glycoproteins, virus-like particles) | Dr. Venditto |
| 2 | Third-party replication of promising results via contract research organization | CRO Partner |
| 3 | Pre-IND meeting with FDA to validate IND-enabling studies and Phase 1 plans | Regulatory Consultants |
| 4 | Ongoing business development to secure licensing partnership | Mr. Register |
The BLITz platform (Balanced and Long-lived Immunity using Triazine lipids) employs solid-phase synthesis to rapidly generate high-purity lipid candidates for efficacy testing. BLITz-003 is the lead candidate.
Proof-of-concept studies in mice showed:
- Single dose of BLITz-003 + ovalbumin produced balanced cellular and humoral immune response
- Significant seroconversion achieved
- >21 weeks of protection (full duration of experiment)
- Intramuscular administration forms a depot, reducing off-target toxicity risk and simplifying regulatory path
Next steps include testing BLITz-003 with antigens from established vaccines (Tdap, pneumococcal/meningococcal, rabies/shingles, HPV) to confirm broad applicability.
All research to date has been funded through grant funding. No equity financing raised.
