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Hoersholm, Denmark, Nov 21, 2007 - (Hugin via ABN Newswire) - Summary: A group of US scientists have tested Pharmexa's PADRE® epitope in a second generation prototype Alzheimer's vaccine. The results are published in the recent edition of The Journal of Neuroscience.
A group of scientists from the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Huntington Beach (California) and the Institute of Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California has published new pre-clinical data on an experimental second generation Alzheimer's vaccine incorporating Pharmexa's proprietary PADRE® epitope. The results are published in the recent edition of the Journal of Neuroscience (27(46):12721-12731).
The researchers have previously described promising results with a first generation vaccine using Pharmexa's PADRE® epitope. The new second generation vaccine, a combination of two copies of a particular fragment of the Abeta peptide and PADRE®, completely eliminated potentially harmful auto-reactive T-cell responses and induced antibody responses in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimers disease. Equally important, a positive correlation between the concentration of antibodies generated and the reduction in Abeta plaques in the brain was observed. This reduction was not associated with adverse events, such as T-cell or macrophage infiltration in the brain.
These independent results once confirm the versatility of Pharmexa's PADRE® epitope across a broad range of applications. The data also confirm Pharmexa's hypotheses that a safe and effective Alzheimer's vaccine may be developed using dominant helper cell epitopes such as PADRE® that will alleviate the side effects observed with earlier Abeta vaccines.
The Abeta peptide is believed to have a central role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Pharmexa, in collaboration with H. Lundbeck, as well as other pharmaceutical and biotech companies, has therefore been targeting the Abeta peptide for a therapeutic Alzheimer's vaccine.
Hørsholm, November 21, 2007
Jakob Schmidt Chief Executive Officer
Additional information: Jakob Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, telephone +45 4516 2525 Claude Mikkelsen, Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Communication, telephone +45 4516 2525 or +45 4060 2558 Note to editors: Pharmexa A/S is a leading company in the field of active immunotherapy and vaccines for the treatment of cancer, serious chronic and infectious diseases. Pharmexa's proprietary technology platforms are broadly applicable, allowing the company to address critical targets in cancer and chronic diseases, as well as serious infectious diseases such as HIV, influenza, hepatitis and malaria. Its leading programs are GV1001, a peptide vaccine that has entered phase III trials in pancreatic cancer and phase II trials in liver cancer, and HIV and hepatitis vaccines in phase I/II. Collaborative agreements include H. Lundbeck, Innogenetics, IDM Pharma and Bavarian Nordic. With operations in Denmark, Norway and USA, Pharmexa employs approximately 105 people and is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange under the trading symbol PHARMX.
