Date: 2014-01-08
Type of information: Grant
Company: Apitope (UK) and Grave's consortium (GSK Vaccines, Quintiles and KWS Biotest)
Investors: European Commission’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7)
Amount: € 6 million
Funding type: grant
Planned used: This consortium aims to develop a Graves’ disease therapeutic vaccine, including a Phase I first-in-man study in Graves’ disease patients. The DAVIAD project focuses on the development of an antigen specific vaccine therapy to reinstate immune tolerance to Graves’ disease. The selected peptides behave as apitopes (antigen processing independent epitopes) and bind to MHC class II molecules in the correct confirmation to induce tolerance.
Others: * On January 8, 2014, Apitope, the drug discovery and development company focused on treating the underlying cause of autoimmune diseases, has announced that the consortium, led by Apitope, which includes GSK Vaccines, Quintiles and KWS Biotest Limited, has been awarded Framework Programme 7 (FP7) Health Innovation funding by the European Commission to develop its Graves’ disease therapeutic vaccine, including a Phase I first-in-man study in Graves’ disease patients. Apitope’s antigen-specific disease modifying peptide therapy uses epitopes designed to shut down the abnormal immune responses to the causative agent in a highly selective manner, re-instating the normal immune balance, thereby avoiding global immune suppression. As a result, the peptides taken into clinical evaluation by Apitope offer the potential to have limited side effects and a good probability of efficacy. Quintiles will act in a comprehensive clinical trial services capacity for this Apitope-led Consortium.
Therapeutic area: Allergic diseases - Immunological diseases
