LOL! Many many times, or maybe it's just that we're used to studying certain sectors or issues and it just seems like intuition. Whatever the case...I'm glad of it.
Here's and article on CHIR: bodes well for the bio sector tomorrow:
(COMTEX) B: CHIRON GRANTED BROAD PATENTS COVERING NOVEL VACCINE TECHN
B: CHIRON GRANTED BROAD PATENTS COVERING NOVEL VACCINE TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY
CURRENTLY BEING USED TO DEVELOP NEXT-GENERATION VACCINES Targeting Hepatitis C
and HIV
EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb 29, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- -- Chiron
Corporation (Nasdaq: CHIR) announced today that it has been granted
United States patent Nos. 6,015,686 and 6,015,694. These patents are
directed to novel vaccine technology derived from alphavirus replicons,
which are gene delivery vectors that have been shown to induce potent
immunity to expressed antigens in order to combat infectious disease.
Together with three additional alphavirus patents issued previously,
these patents provide Chiron with a significant position in this
emerging field. This proprietary vaccine technology is being developed
for use in multiple next-generation vaccines currently under
development, including those that target the hepatitis C virus (HCV)
and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
"We believe that alphavirus replicons may prove to be particularly
important components for vaccines against HIV and HCV," commented Lewis
T. ("Rusty") Williams, M.D., Ph.D., Chiron's chief scientific officer
and president of research and development. "This is important as both
of these diseases have reached world-wide epidemic proportions and yet
have proved elusive to commercial vaccines. These patents enhance
Chiron's significant technology portfolio as we work to develop new
approaches for these infectious diseases," he added.
Alphavirus replicons have features that make them excellent candidates
for commercial vaccine development. For example, following vaccination
they can selectively target cells involved in the immune response, and
replicons are capable of producing large quantities of antigen(s). It
is the production of antigens that stimulates an immune response to
protect an individual against future infection by the disease-causing
agent. Furthermore, high levels of antigen production are an important
predictor of vaccine potency.
Chiron scientists have developed two systems using different formats of
the alphavirus replicon. The first system is a plasmid DNA replicon,
while the second is the replicon contained in a virus-like "coat."
Because each system has important advantages, they can be used for
different applications. However, both are amenable to efficient
large-scale manufacture. In several publications from Chiron, as well
as by other researchers in the field, each system has been shown to
elicit antigen-specific immune responses in preclinical studies.
About the Patents U.S. patent 6,015,686, entitled "Eukaryotic Layered
Vector Initiation Systems," is directed to self-amplifying RNA
expression vectors launched from DNA within a cell. These layered
(COMTEX) B: CHIRON GRANTED BROAD PATENTS COVERING NOVEL VACCINE TECHN
B: CHIRON GRANTED BROAD PATENTS COVERING NOVEL VACCINE TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY
CURRENTLY BEING USED TO DEVELOP NEXT-GENERATION VACCINES Targeting Hepatitis C
and HIV
EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb 29, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- -- Chiron
Corporation (Nasdaq: CHIR) announced today that it has been granted
United States patent Nos. 6,015,686 and 6,015,694. These patents are
directed to novel vaccine technology derived from alphavirus replicons,
which are gene delivery vectors that have been shown to induce potent
immunity to expressed antigens in order to combat infectious disease.
Together with three additional alphavirus patents issued previously,
these patents provide Chiron with a significant position in this
emerging field. This proprietary vaccine technology is being developed
for use in multiple next-generation vaccines currently under
development, including those that target the hepatitis C virus (HCV)
and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
"We believe that alphavirus replicons may prove to be particularly
important components for vaccines against HIV and HCV," commented Lewis
T. ("Rusty") Williams, M.D., Ph.D., Chiron's chief scientific officer
and president of research and development. "This is important as both
of these diseases have reached world-wide epidemic proportions and yet
have proved elusive to commercial vaccines. These patents enhance
(COMTEX) B: CHIRON GRANTED BROAD PATENTS COVERING NOVEL VACCINE TECHN
B: CHIRON GRANTED BROAD PATENTS COVERING NOVEL VACCINE TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY
CURRENTLY BEING USED TO DEVELOP NEXT-GENERATION VACCINES Targeting Hepatitis C
and HIV
EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb 29, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- -- Chiron
Corporation (Nasdaq: CHIR) announced today that it has been granted
United States patent Nos. 6,015,686 and 6,015,694. These patents are
directed to novel vaccine technology derived from alphavirus replicons,
which are gene delivery vectors that have been shown to induce potent
immunity to expressed antigens in order to combat infectious disease.
Together with three additional alphavirus patents issued previously,
these patents provide Chiron with a significant position in this
emerging field. This proprietary vaccine technology is being developed
for use in multiple next-generation vaccines currently under
development, including those that target the hepatitis C virus (HCV)
and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
"We believe that alphavirus replicons may prove to be particularly
important components for vaccines against HIV and HCV," commented Lewis
T. ("Rusty") Williams, M.D., Ph.D., Chiron's chief scientific officer
and president of research and development. "This is important as both
of these diseases have reached world-wide epidemic proportions and yet
have proved elusive to commercial vaccines. These patents enhance
Chiron's significant technology portfolio as we work to develop new
approaches for these infectious diseases," he added.
Alphavirus replicons have features that make them excellent candidates
for commercial vaccine development. For example, following vaccination
they can selectively target cells involved in the immune response, and
replicons are capable of producing large quantities of antigen(s). It
is the production of antigens that stimulates an immune response to
protect an individual against future infection by the disease-causing
agent. Furthermore, high levels of antigen production are an important
predictor of vaccine potency.
Chiron scientists have developed two systems using different formats of
the alphavirus replicon. The first system is a plasmid DNA replicon,
while the second is the replicon contained in a virus-like "coat."
Because each system has important advantages, they can be used for
different applications. However, both are amenable to efficient
large-scale manufacture. In several publications from Chiron, as well
as by other researchers in the field, each system has been shown to
elicit antigen-specific immune responses in preclinical studies.
About the Patents U.S. patent 6,015,686, entitled "Eukaryotic Layered
Vector Initiation Systems," is directed to self-amplifying RNA
expression vectors launched from DNA within a cell. These layered
vectors may be used to express high levels of a variety of proteins,
including antigens, from infectious agents and tumor cells. Another
U.S. patent issued previously to Chiron, U.S. patent 5,814,482,
complements this patent and provides claims directed to methods of
inducing an immune response using the eukaryotic layered vector
initiation systems.
U.S. patent 6,015,694, entitled "Method for Stimulating an Immune
Response Utilizing Recombinant Alphavirus Particles," is directed to
the use of alphavirus vector particles produced in packaging cell lines
for vaccine applications. Chiron's novel packaging cell lines offer
significant improvement over transient production methods. Alphavirus
vector packaging cell lines are also the subject of another U.S.
patent, 5,842,723, issued to Chiron.
U.S. patent 6,015,694 is also directed to similar alphavirus vector
particle preparations that are free from contaminating
replication-competent virus. Chiron's "split" structural protein gene
packaging cassettes, which are the subject of U.S. patent 5,789,245,
are used to generate these virus particle preparations. The
technological advances described in these patents have application to
all alphavirus vectors under commercial development, including those
derived from Sindbis virus, Semliki Forest virus, and Venezuelan equine
encephalitis virus.
About Chiron Corporation Chiron Corporation, headquartered in EmeMting.
The company is applying a broad and integrated scientific approach to
the development of innovative products for preventing and treating
cancer, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease. For further
information, visit the company's website at www.chiron.com.
SOURCE Chiron Corporation
(C) 2000 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
prnewswire.com
-0-
CONTACT: Julie Wood, Senior Director, Corporate Communications,
510-923-6686, or Jennifer Wyckoff, Communications Specialist,
Corporate
Communications, 510-923-3103, both of Chiron Corporation
WEB PAGE: chiron.com
GEOGRAPHY: California
INDUSTRY CODE: BIO
MTC
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