Tampere, Finland – Vactech Oy (Vactech), a biotechnology company focused on development of vaccines for Type 1 Diabetes and other immune mediated diseases, today announced that a preclinical study on the efficacy and safety of an experimental vaccine against Coxsackievirus B1 reveals no risk for accelerated diabetes development in mouse models but protects completely the mice against Coxsackievirus B1 infection. This result has been published in the scientific journal of European Association for the Study of Diabetes (Diabetologia journal).

Publication: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00125-014-3436-0

Study setup

Enterovirus infections have been implicated in the aetiology of autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes. A vaccine could be used to test the causal relationship between enterovirus infections and diabetes development. Therefore, it is important to carry out preclincial studies to optimize the efficacy and safety of such vaccine. The referred study aimed to evaluate these aspects of a novel non-adjuvanted prototype vaccine to Coxsackievirus serotype B1 (CVB1), a member of the enterovirus genus. A formalin-inactivated CVB1 vaccine was developed and tested for its immunogenicity and safety in BALB/c and NOD mice. Mice were vaccinated and vaccine induced protection against CVB1 and it’s effect on diabetes development were analyzed.

Results

Vaccinated mice produced high titres of CVB1-neutralising antibodies without signs of vaccine-related side effects. Vaccinated mice challenged with CVB1 had significantly reduced levels of replicating virus in their blood and the pancreas. Prediabetic NOD mice demonstrated an accelerated onset of diabetes upon CVB1 infection whereas no accelerated disease manifestation or increased production of insulin autoantibodies was observed in vaccinated mice.

"This study demonstrates that non-adjuvanted inactivated Coxsackievirus B vaccine is safe and effective. This is in line with the excellent safety and efficacy of the other enterovirus vaccine, inactivated poliovirus vaccine, which has long been used in children word-wide. These results encourage the development of a multivalent enterovirus vaccine for human use, which could be used to determine whether enterovirus infections trigger beta cell autoimmunity and Type 1 Diabetes in humans", said MD, Ph.D Heikki Hyöty, Chairman of the Vactech Board and Senior Adviser.

About Vactech

Vactech develops and licenses vaccines and novel technologies for vaccines and diagnostics with a pipeline of early stage product candidates focused on Type 1 Diabetes, Celiac Disease, Asthma & Allergy and diagnostics.

Vactech’s flagship project is a patented enterovirus based preventive Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) vaccine, similar to the widely used enterovirus vaccine against polio. The vaccine is a traditional inactivated vaccine and it has been proved to be safe and effective in mice. In addition, Vactech’s IMAVAC™ product line uses Virus Like Particle (VLP) technology which is essential for other vaccines, immunomodulators and diagnostic applications.

Vactech is a privately owned company. We have a track record of collaboration with big pharma on the level of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). We consider ourselves as an attractive investment target for those that believe in and want to grow with our mission.

For more information contact:

Please see the company's website at www.vactech.fi for additional information or contact:

Raimo Harju, CEO

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