Why DNA Vaccines May Be Commercially Viable

By: Jim Nelson Friday, September 03, 2010 11:13 AM
 
In the early 1990s, DNA vaccines for the treatment and prevention of diseases first emerged. Excitement about this technology was matched only by unrealistic expectations regarding the timeline to market. Interest was driven, however, by the real potential of the technology. For the first time, unvaccinatable targets like HIV and hepatitis C were in the bull's-eye. Traditional vaccine technology, using live or inactivated viruses, simply did not provide a viable way to provoke a protective immune response against these diseases.
 
Moreover, DNA vaccines could be used against diseases other than their historical target, viruses. Early on, it dawned on researchers that this new generation of vaccines could be used to train the immune system to attack cancers and a wide range of other malignancies that act like foreign invaders inside the body.

Conventional vaccines work by having the body's immune system recognize unique antigenic proteins that are part of the virus, triggering an immune response against the invader. The elegance of DNA vaccines is that, rather than introducing into the body an actual virus, only the antigen that would be recognized as foreign is introduced. Scientists realized that they could turn cells in the body into protein-manufacturing plants. By isolating the DNA responsible for producing ONLY the foreign antigenic protein associated with a specific virus, they could get around various issues associated with live or weakened viruses.

Big Pharma companies like Merck, Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline as well as national labs and academic research facilities poured billions into a "first wave" attempt at producing commercially viable DNA vaccines. Problems delivering the DNA vaccines in a way that provoked a sufficient immune response soon dampened their enthusiasm.

Two basic problems prevented the development of truly effective DNA vaccines. The first was an immature understanding of genetics. In those days, researchers were only beginning to learn how to optimize the DNA sequences to produce antigens with maximum impact. Additionally, there was the familiar "delivery" problem. Cells didn't absorb enough of the DNA plasmids to become effective antigen factories. Since the amount of antigens produced by the body was therefore low, the immune response was insufficient to form the basis of viable drugs.

As a result, early DNA vaccine trials in humans were disappointing. The flow of research dollars slowed. Behind the scenes, however, determined scientists in dedicated startups never lost confidence in the core science. As importantly, alliances were formed and diverse discoveries merged. In recent years, their work has finally begun to bear fruit. I have been aware of this fact for some time. Until now, however, I hadn't identified a company that fits in the Breakthrough Technology Alert portfolio.

But thanks to a series of mergers, a single company holds all the talent and IP needed to deliver on the breakthrough potential of DNA vaccine technology. In fact, they appear to have solved the problems faced by early DNA vaccine researchers.

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