Delonix Bioworks has dosed the first participant in its Phase 1 clinical trial of DX-104, a next-generation Group B meningococcal vaccine candidate, in China.
DX-104 is developed using Delonix’s proprietary OMV Plus platform, which uses genetically engineered outer membrane vesicles to enable precise antigen presentation. The vaccine candidate is being developed to address strain coverage, manufacturing complexity and accessibility limitations associated with existing MenB vaccines.
The trial in China is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating safety and immunogenicity in healthy participants aged two to 59 years. It runs alongside an ongoing first-in-human Phase 1 trial in Australia, giving Delonix a concurrent global development path across different populations.
The China trial is commercially and public-health relevant because no MenB vaccine is currently approved in China. This creates a gap in prevention, particularly as the company estimates China’s MenB vaccine market potential could reach RMB 4.7 billion by 2035.
The OMV Plus platform is designed to produce high-yield, cost-effective and genetically engineered OMVs with controlled antigen presentation. This could be important for vaccine scalability if the platform can support broader strain coverage and more accessible production.
For Delonix, DX-104 is part of a larger pipeline of genetically engineered bacterial vaccines targeting public health needs. The company is also developing programmes for pertussis, gonorrhoeae and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
The development reflects growing vaccine innovation in China, where domestic biotech companies are moving from conventional vaccine development toward engineered platforms. If DX-104 progresses successfully, it could support both China’s MenB prevention landscape and wider global development of OMV-based bacterial vaccines.
