October 05, 2010 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Funding will support further evaluation of the TSV approach that has generated significant protective responses in several pre-clinical models of HIV
BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Profectus BioSciences, Inc., a technology based vaccine company devoted to the treatment and prevention of chronic viral diseases, today announced the award of a Fast Track SBIR from the Division of AIDS, National Institutes of Health for $3.1M to support the development of the Company’s Transition State Vaccine (TSV) technology for a prophylactic HIV Vaccine. This new award builds upon the $1.3M that the Company has also received through collaborative grants awarded to Dr. Robert Gallo, Director of the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, with his co-workers Drs. George Lewis and Anthony DeVico from the National Cancer Institute and other groups. Profectus BioSciences is dedicated to harnessing the immune system to treat and prevent viral diseases and cancers through the delivery of proprietary prime/boost vaccines.
Originally developed at the IHV, the TSV strategy targets the adaptive immune response to the most protected portions of HIV envelope spikes that are considered the “Achilles heel” of all HIV isolates. The TSV is being developed as a subunit protein and also for delivery utilizing the Company’s plasmid DNA and recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus vaccine vectors. Thus far, the TSV approach has generated significant protective responses in several non-human primate models for HIV. This data was presented at the 2010 AIDS Vaccine Conference in Atlanta, GA. John Eldridge, Chief Scientific Officer of Profectus BioSciences, commented, “Awards such as these are central to our ability to pursue an effective prophylactic vaccine against HIV.”
About Profectus BioSciences, Inc.
Profectus BioSciences, Inc. is a technology based vaccine company devoted to the treatment and prevention of chronic viral diseases with a goal of reducing morbidity and mortality. Since its inception in 2003, the Company’s strategic intent has been to develop and acquire the technologies needed to deliver on that mission within high value markets. The foundation of Profectus Biosciences’ approach is the premise that effective management of inflammation and immunity can dramatically improve clinical outcomes. The Company has in-licensed a group of vaccine-based technologies from Wyeth Vaccines that greatly accelerate its’ ability to deliver highly effective therapeutic vaccines based on a “prime-boost” strategy. This strategy uses the delivery of a best-in-class plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccine to “prime” the immune system, followed by a first-in-class “boost” using a recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (rVSV) vector. Current disease and virus targets include Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and Malaria.
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