Cel-Sci expands H1N1 flu virus research
Cel-Sci Corporation, a US developer of products to boost the immune system, is expanding the scope of its work towards creating a treatment and vaccination against the H1N1 swine flu virus, as well any future mutation of the virus. The research will add regions of the hemagglutinin molecule, which are highly conserved and essential for the survival of the virus. This research comes on top of the ongoing work being conducted against other non-changing parts of the virus.
Cel-Sci Corporation, a US developer of products to boost the immune system, is expanding the scope of its work towards creating a treatment and vaccination against the H1N1 swine flu virus, as well any future mutation of the virus. The research will add regions of the hemagglutinin molecule, which are highly conserved and essential for the survival of the virus. This research comes on top of the ongoing work being conducted against other non-changing parts of the virus.
Cel-Sci scientists believe that the combination of various non-changing regions on the virus in one vaccine will allow for a greater ability to treat and protect against the current H1N1 virus and any possible more virulent form.
The company has two ongoing H1N1 research programmes. The first is directed against a future mutated form of the virus and is focused on creating a treatment/vaccine against it by combining non-changing parts of the H1N1 virus, the avian flu virus and the Spanish flu virus.
The second programme is directed at helping very sick patients infected with the current form of H1N1. Cel-Sci will provide an update on this programme within the next month.
Cel-Sci's Leaps (Ligand Epitope Antigen Presentation System) technology allows it to direct an immune response against a specific disease epitope, in this case non-changing regions of H1N1, avian flu and Spanish flu. This makes it possible to programme the intended immune response and avoid the administration of regions of the H1N1, and other viruses, that may exacerbate the problem of "cytokine storm", which is involved in the death of many H1N1 patients.
The Leaps technology combines a small peptide that activates the immune system with one from a disease-related protein, such as the H1N1 hemagglutinin molecule, to make a vaccine that induces a defined immune response. Each Leaps construct is composed of a T cell binding ligand (TCBL), which has previously demonstrated the ability to induce and elicit protective immunity and antigen specific antibody production in animal models. In Cel-Sci's Leaps swine flu vaccine the TCBLs will be coupled to three different epitopes from three proteins common to all influenza A virus strains.