Look at this, Monsanto/Searle is closely tied to the Cytel (CYTL)/Epimmune announcement, but I don't think many people noticed.
"Epimmune is collaborating with G.D. Searle & Co., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Monsanto Co., to develop immune stimulating products for
the treatment of cancer. Additional product targets include
prophylactic vaccines for hepatitis C, HIV and malaria and therapeutic
vaccines for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV."
(full text)
Epitope-Based Vaccine Promising for HIV Treatment and Prevention
BusinessWire, Thursday, January 14, 1999 at 08:53
KEYSTONE, Colo.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 14, 1999--Epimmune Inc., a
majority-owned subsidiary of Cytel Corp. (NASDAQ:CYTL), today
announced presentations by its scientists and collaborators of initial
data suggesting that epitope-based vaccines hold promise for the
control of HIV infection.
Data from two HIV related model studies were presented at the
"Conference on HIV Vaccine Development" in Keystone, Colo.
"These initial results provide further support for our continued
pursuit of development of an epitope-based HIV vaccine," said Robert
W. Chesnut, Ph.D., executive vice president, Research and Development
of Epimmune. "In one study involving macaque monkeys, a significant
cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) response was induced in all vaccinated animals.
The other study, conducted in transgenic mice, demonstrated the
ability of our EpiGene(TM) construct to simultaneously induce potent
responses to multiple CTL epitopes."
The first study involved macaque monkeys infected with simian
immunodeficiency virus (SIV), an AIDS-like virus. Prior to infection
with SIV, three monkeys were vaccinated with a single CTL epitope
using a Dermal PowderJect(R) Delivery System. In all three vaccinated
animals, a significant CTL response was induced against the epitope,
while no CTL response was detected in the four unvaccinated animals.
During the eight weeks after infection with a highly virulent
strain of SIV, the three vaccinated monkeys produced CTL responses
that peaked three weeks sooner than the non-vaccinated animals -- an
event thought to be important for combating virus infection. The
monkey with the most significant CTL response showed a greatly reduced
(close to 95 percent) level of virus in the blood.
"These results support the idea that CTL play a central role in
the control of SIV and HIV infections," stated David I. Watkins,
Ph.D., Professor of Pathology at the Wisconsin Regional Primate
Research Center (WPRC), and Principal Investigator of the macaque
study. "The data also demonstrate that epitopes can be used to target
and activate a strong immune response. We plan to further evaluate the
potential of epitope-based vaccines using multiple SIV epitopes."
Collaborating with Dr. Watkins on the macaque study were Drs.
Alessandro Sette (Epimmune); Todd Allen (WPRC); Tomas Hanke and Andrew
McMichael (Oxford University); John Altman (Emory University); and
Deborah Fuller (PowderJect Vaccines).
In parallel with the macaque work, Epimmune scientists have
defined multiple epitopes from HIV that are being used to create a
multi-epitope human vaccine. Results of this work in transgenic mice
were also presented at the conference.
The data demonstrated the effective delivery of multiple human
HIV epitopes using the EpiGene construct, a DNA vector encoding the
selected epitope sequences. The results showed that multiple HIV
epitopes, specific for different HIV antigens, could simultaneously
induce strong CTL responses to each of the epitopes.
"Both the breadth and strength of responses are believed to be
very important for controlling the viral infection," added Dr.
Chesnut. "Based on results to date in model systems, we believe that
an EpiGene vaccine has the potential to induce CTL responses that are
more potent and target more epitopes than vaccines using whole
proteins or genes."
Epimmune Inc., established in October 1997, is a majority-owned
subsidiary of Cytel Corp. (NASDAQ:CYTL), operating under separate
management and financing. Applying its substantial immunology
expertise and scientific leadership in the field of T-cell recognition
and activation, Epimmune is developing novel vaccines which stimulate
the body's immune system to treat and prevent infectious diseases and
cancer.
Epimmune is collaborating with G.D. Searle & Co., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Monsanto Co., to develop immune stimulating products for
the treatment of cancer. Additional product targets include
prophylactic vaccines for hepatitis C, HIV and malaria and therapeutic
vaccines for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. |
