A new and promising research project of Top Institute Pharma is being
conducted by a multi-member Dutch consortium with expertise in the fields
of virology, immunology and vaccine development. The aim of the project is
to develop novel strategies to induce and monitor the humoral and cellular
immunity that protects the host from respiratory virus infections. This
project has a budget of almost 4 million Euros. One of its aims is to
reduce the risk of a pandemic outbreak of influenza, that may emerge from
the current avian influenza threat to humans. The partners in the project
are Solvay Pharmaceuticals B.V., Nobilon International B.V., OctoPlus
N.V., ViroClinics B.V., Virosome Biologicals B.V., the Erasmus University
Medical Center Rotterdam, Leiden University, the University Medical Center
Groningen, Utrecht University and the Netherlands Vaccine Institute.
The project is an initiative of Top Institute Pharma, a public-private
partnership that was founded in 2006. TI Pharma forms consortia of
industrial and academic research teams who conduct ground-breaking,
cross-disciplinary research. Its personnel are trained in improving the
efficiency of the entire drug discovery and development process. Each
year, the Dutch government provides 30 million Euros in funding for the
top institute. The pharmaceutical industry and academia each contribute an
additional 15 million Euros annually. TI Pharma is aiming to become an
international leader in research, training and education.
Professor Ab Osterhaus, principal investigator: "This is a unique project,
because it combines the expertise and knowledge from the fields of
virology, immunology and vaccine development of prominent industrial
partners, knowledge institutes, medical centers and universities.
Therefore, we hope for ground-breaking results."
Respiratory viruses are the cause of a large burden of disease in humans
and although effective vaccines exist to protect against seasonal
influenza, no vaccines are currently available for other important human
respiratory viral diseases such as avian influenza, pandemic influenza and
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. There are a number of reasons
for this: an incomplete understanding of the correlates of
(vaccine-induced) protection against these infections that stems from
research activities whose focus is too limited, inadequate research tools,
and because efficient vaccine delivery systems for humans are largely
lacking.
Principal investigator Professor Osterhaus: "This project aims to fill
these knowledge gaps in the prevention of respiratory virus infections
through developing a set of tools to enable us to better understand the
roles of both the humoral and the cellular arms of the adaptive immune
system, stimulated by virus infection and vaccination. Other aims of the
project are to develop novel vaccines based on antigens produced by new
manufacturing systems and with innovative delivery systems, that will
induce both humoral and cellular immunity. Pandemic influenza will be used
as the primary model disease as it is considered a major threat and is
part of the World Health Organization's Priority Medicines program.
Certain aspects of the work will be extended to the development of
intervention strategies for RSV infection."
Most seasonal influenza vaccines are inactivated, subunit, whole- or
split-virus vaccines. Vaccines for the highly pathogenic avian influenza
(HPAI) strain H5N1, which may well be the basis of the next pandemic in
humans, have been modelled on such seasonal vaccines but have been proven
to be poorly immunogenic in humans as large doses are required to obtain a
modest and highly restricted immune response. This is likely because
seasonal vaccination acts to boost existing immunity, while the immune
systems of the general population are naГЇve to the H5N1 virus. Professor
Osterhaus: "Given these results, and the insufficient manufacturing
capacity for influenza vaccines in general, it is imperative to develop a
novel generation of vaccines that will enable an increase in manufacturing
capacity, enhanced immunoprotection and vaccination requiring less
injections, allowing maximum protection worldwide."
About OctoPlus
OctoPlus N.V. (Euronext: OCTO) is a biopharmaceutical company creating
improved pharmaceutical products that are based on OctoPlus' drug delivery
technologies and have fewer side effects, improved patient convenience and
a better tolerability than existing products. The Company currently has 4
products in preclinical and clinical development. In addition, OctoPlus is
a leading provider of drug formulation and clinical scale manufacturing
services, with a focus on difficult to formulate active pharmaceutical
ingredients in injectable formulations.
octoplus.nl
About Nobilon
Nobilon International BV, part of Organon, a biopharmaceutical business
unit of Akzo Nobel, was founded in 2003. It has production and R&D
facilities in Boxmeer and Oss, the Netherlands. The biotechnology company
is dedicated to develop, produce and market human vaccines against
infectious diseases, building on existing expertise within sister
companies Intervet and Organon. Nobilon focuses on respiratory and
traveller's diseases. One of its core expertises is large scale cell
culture production of viruses, including influenza. Nobilon currently
employs approximately 75 staff in production and R&D.
nobilon
About Solvay Pharmaceuticals
Solvay Pharmaceuticals is a research driven group of companies that
constitute the global pharmaceutical business of the Solvay Group. The
company seeks to fulfill carefully selected, unmet medical needs in the
therapeutic areas of neuroscience, cardiometabolic, influenza vaccines,
gastroenterology, and men's and women's health. Its 2006 sales were EUR
2.6 billion and it employs approximately 10,000 people worldwide. For more
information, visit solvaypharmaceuticals. Solvay Pharmaceuticals
B.V. is active in the Netherlands and employs about 13 00 people.
About LACDR
LACDR is a center of excellence in innovative drug research and education.
Its research focus is the development of novel concepts, and developing
the knowledge and expertise that make drug discovery, evaluation and
clinical application possible. This includes a fundamental understanding
of drug actions as the basis for evaluating efficacy and safety.
lacdr.nl
About Virosome Biologicals B.V.
Virosome Biologicals B.V. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwood
Immunology Limited (NIM), having been acquired in November 2006. NIM is a
group focused on technologies and therapies to activate and manipulate the
immune system, through two platforms: use of temporary sex steroid
suppression to effect rejuvenation of the thymus and bone marrow, with
resulting enhancement of T cell function and immune responsiveness; and
the development of adjuvanted virosomes for vaccines based and as a
delivery mechanism for SiRNA. NIM is quoted on the London AIM Exchange
(AIM: NIM).
About the Netherlands Vaccine Institute
The Netherlands Vaccine Institute, as one of the few institutes in the
world, buys, produces and develops vaccines under the authority of the
government. The NVI protects the Dutch population against infectious
diseases by supplying vaccines under normal as well as extraordinary
circumstances. To achieve this, NVI has expert knowledge about all aspects
of the vaccine value chain, ranging from top class research & development
and clinical trials to high standard pharmaceutical production and
distribution.
nvi-vaccin.nl
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