Results on ViscoGel® adjuvant published in Vaccine
Preclinical results describing the efficacy of ViscoGel® - a novel vaccine adjuvant - were recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Vaccine. The results support Proof of Concept for ViscoGel® as an effective vaccine adjuvant.
In the published preclinical studies, ViscoGel® was used as an adjuvant together with Act-HIB®, a commercial vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae. ViscoGel® significantly improved the efficacy of the vaccine and induced a strong and sustained immunologic response.
Viscogel’s chitosan-based adjuvant improves the efficacy of vaccine antigens, thus enabling development of new vaccines for diseases with high unmet medical need. Additionally, an enhanced immune response to a vaccine antigen makes it possible to reduce the amount of antigen needed, decreasing the vaccine cost and increasing the supply of available vaccine doses. Facing emerging pandemic threats, this would be of great value as the global supply capacity is limited.
The authors of the publication report several benefits with ViscoGel® compared to other alternative adjuvants. ViscoGel® is non-toxic, stable and compatible with different types of antigens. The adjuvant is based on a well-characterized compound, which is an advantage from a regulatory perspective.
”The publication of the results in a peer-reviewed journal provides further external validation of our adjuvant technology”, says Peter Singer, CEO of Viscogel. ”The EU has provided a grant to the ViVac project led by Viscogel with the objective of showing clinical Proof-of-Concept. We now proceed full speed with the planning of the first clinical trial scheduled to start in 2012”.
The global vaccine market was estimated at USD 21 billion in 2008 with an expected annual growth rate of 12%. An adjuvant is an agent added to a vaccine to increase the efficacy of the vaccine. The demand for new adjuvants is high as there are few adjuvants currently available for use in the market.
Contact:
Peter Singer, CEO
Telefon: +46 (0)708 - 555 100
E-mail: peter.singer@viscogel.se
Website: www.viscogel.se
About Viscogel AB
Viscogel AB was founded in 2008 to further develop a novel high quality chitosan and viscoelastic gels for medical applications. The company has a unique expertise in chitosan and has developed Viscosan®, which is a medical grade chitosan of a quality previously not available in the market. The company has also patented a novel viscoelastic chitosan hydrogel - ViscoGel® - which can be mechanically processed to small particles. The particles have a large surface area available for interaction with the immune system, enable a rapid and improved immune response and can be injected. Viscogel AB is owned by the founders, management and private investors.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme managed by REA – Research Executive Agency http://ec.europa.eu/research/rea ([FP7/2007- 2013] [FP7/2007-2011]) under grant agreement no 261954.
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