Intercell AG today announced that a Tuberculosis vaccine, which is currently tested in clinical trials and which contains antigens discovered by Statens Serum Institut formulated with Intercell's innovative adjuvant IC31®, will be further developed in a partnership between SSI and Sanofi Pasteur.
SSI and Intercell will continue their world-leading collaboration in the field of Tuberculosis research and vaccine development with Intercell’s proprietary adjuvant IC31®, and by the involvement of Sanofi Pasteur extend the activities into more advanced phases aiming to make a new TB vaccine widely available in shortest possible time.
The collaboration with Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation in the TB vaccine field will continue and together the parties represent the extensive range of technology and expertise necessary to solve this complex global health problem.
"We are very happy that Sanofi Pasteur is now contributing all its outstanding vaccine expertise to this very promising tuberculosis vaccine program" comments Intercell's Chief Executive Officer Gerd Zettlmeissl. "The preclinical and the Phase I clinical studies performed so far have impressively proven that our novel adjuvant IC31® will play an important role in this combined vaccine approach."
Financial details are not disclosed.
About Tuberculosis (TB)
TB causes the death of more than 1.5 million people every year and one-third of the world’s population is infected by the bacteria “Mycobacterium tuberculosis” which makes this disease one of the most severe global health problems. The existing Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) vaccine is a live vaccine that, when given to newborns, provides good protection against TB for 10-15 years. However, when the protective effect decreases, yet another BCG vaccination does not provide sufficient TB protection. Therefore, a new type of TB vaccine is needed to address the need of TB protection in the adult population.
About IC31®
Vaccines, based on antigens alone, are not sufficient to maximize protection. Adjuvants are needed to educate the immune system to recognize and eliminate the pathogens efficiently. IC31® is an adjuvant that induces T-cell and B-cell responses by using a unique synthetic formulation which combines the immunostimulating properties of an anti-microbial peptide, KLK, and an immunostimulatory oligodeoxynucleotide, ODN1a. The two component solution can be simply mixed with antigens; no conjugation is required. Intercell currently uses IC31® in collaborations with a number of global vaccine companies and biotech companies.
About Intercell AG
Intercell AG is a growing biotechnology company which focuses on the design and development of novel vaccines for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases with substantial unmet medical need. The Company develops antigens and adjuvants which are derived from its proprietary technology platforms, and has in-house GMP manufacturing capabilities. Based on these technologies, Intercell has strategic partnerships with a number of global pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Merck & Co., Inc., Wyeth, Sanofi Pasteur, Kirin and the Statens Serum Institut. The Company’s leading product, a prophylactic vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis, successfully concluded pivotal Phase III clinical trials in 2006. The Market Authorization Application (MAA) in Europe as well as the Biological License Application (BLA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of the vaccine to prevent Japanese encephalitis were submitted in December 2007. The company’s broad development pipeline includes a Pseudomonas vaccine in Phase II, a therapeutic vaccine for Hepatitis C in Phase II, partnered vaccines for Tuberculosis (Phase I) and Staphylococcus aureus (Phase II), and five products focused on infectious diseases in preclinical development.
Intercell is listed on the Vienna stock exchange under the symbol "ICLL".
For more information, please visit: www.intercell.com
Contact Intercell AG:
Dr. Werner LanthalerChief Financial OfficerCampus Vienna Biocenter 2, A-1030 ViennaP: +43-1-20620-120Mail to: WLanthaler(at)intercell.com
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