Date: 2015-06-03
Type of information: Collaboration agreement
Compound: vaccines based on modified versions of GenVec's gorilla adenovectors incorporating camelid antibodies
Company: Genvec (USA - MD) Washington University School of Medicine (USA - MO)
Therapeutic area:
Type agreement: collaboration
Action mechanism: therapeutic vaccine/immunotherapy product
Disease:
Details: * On June 3, 2015, GenVec announced a multi-faceted collaboration with Dr. David T. Curiel and his team from the School of Medicine at Washington University at St. Louis (WUSTL). Dr. Curiel is the director of the Biologic Therapeutic Center and the Cancer Biology Division within the Department of Radiation Oncology. Under the collaboration, GenVec and the WUSTL team will create modified versions of GenVec's gorilla adenovectors that incorporate specialized targeting antibodies on the surface of the vectors. These antibodies are produced only by camels, alpacas and other camelids and are smaller and more stable in intracellular environments than their mouse or human counterparts. The ultimate goal of this collaboration will be to create highly targeted therapeutics and vaccines. The WUSTL team has conducted in vitro research using human cells grown in the lab to demonstrate that camelid antibodies can be used to target genetically engineered viruses specifically to cancer cells. Camelid antibodies are smaller than typical antibody proteins and do not unfold in the harsh environment inside cells, allowing them to retain their binding specificity, and thus, their targeting capability. Paired with the right viral vector, and combined with other targeting moieties, these antibodies can potentially be used for pinpoint delivery of viruses to various target cell types. In preclinical testing, GenVec's gorilla adenovectors have shown superior performance, particularly for molecular vaccine applications. We have seen the induction of both durable high-level antibody and T cell responses and have demonstrated increased immune responses on repeat administration. At the same time, these multiply-deleted adenovectors ensure replication block, provide increased transgene capacity, and avoid the pre-existing immunity issues that can hamper gene delivery using other adenovector constructs. The purpose of the early stage of GenVec/WUSTL collaborative work will be to explore how the durability and targeting potential of WUSTL's camelid antibodies can be combined with the strengths of GenVec's gorilla adenovectors to yield precision-targeted compounds that may effectively address a variety of disease indications.
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