Cancer vaccine collaboration for Henderson Morley and SBL

The board at biotech business Henderson Morley and Systems Biology Laboratory (SBL) UK are to partner in the first of several collaborations aimed at developing vaccines for the cancer immunotherapy market.

In a collaborative research agreement and a material transfer agreement between the two companies, a vaccine will be developed that combines PREPS/ L-particle and dendritic-cell immunotherapies. PREPS and L-particles are novel technologies that use virus-like particles produced by herpes simplex virus - the virus responsible for cold sores and genital herpes.

As herpes viruses are very potent stimulators of dendritic cells, also known as "antigen presenting cells", the studies will examine the effects of administering PREPS or L-particles at the same time as cancer antigens. If successful, these studies could lead rapidly to further studies involving more complex disease models, with the goal of rapid clinical development.

Research will take place over an initial 12- month period with the possibility of a further 12-month extension.

Under the terms of these agreements, the studies will be funded by SBL, and will use PREPS and L-particles produced and provided by Henderson Morley. Henderson Morley will own all new intellectual property rights created.

The significant advantage over existing viral-based immunotherapies, is that these particles are sterile "empty shells" that do not contain viral DNA, yet contain all of the virus proteins. They can therefore produce a potent stimulation of dendritic cells, without the risk of the virus replicating. The initial studies will be examining dendritic cell responses to important cancer antigens from the skin cancer, malignant melanoma.

Executive chairman Andrew Knight said: "This is the first of several planned collaborations to develop PREPS and L-particles as vaccine candidates in the multi-billion dollar cancer immunotherapy market. We are very pleased to be working with SBL who are experts in the development of dendritic cell based therapies - a growing area of research that has already demonstrated significant benefits to patients globally."

SBL has two current areas of research, both using expertise in genetic maintenance of stem cells and dendritic cell-based immunotherapy. They have a state-of the art GLP compliant laboratory and well funded research facility in Abingdon Oxfordshire.

Justin John, SBL's scientific project manager, said: "We believe that our combined efforts should generate a novel class of vaccine for the treatment of various types of cancer."

Dendritic cells are specialised cells of the human immune system that are found in highest quantities when the parts of the body, such as the skin, nose and mouth, are in contact with the exterior environment. Their function is to engulf a foreign protein, migrate to a local lymph node and then present this foreign protein (antigen) to the immune system.