Positive data for Lipoxen's hepatitis-E vaccine candidate

UK biopharma company Lipoxen, which specialises in the development of high value differentiated biologicals, vaccines and oncology drugs, achieved positive results in a pre-clinical model with its novel vaccine delivery technology, ImuXen.

This technology uses a proprietary liposomal formulation method to deliver vaccine materials to the immune system, in a manner designed to emulate the response of a natural encounter with the infectious agent.

The company says the key benefit of its ImuXen technology is that it gives rise to strong immunological responses, akin to that achieved by live attenuated vaccines, while avoiding completely the risk of infection as a result of vaccination which is a rare but significant consequence of some live attenuated vaccines.

The positive data is from a pre-clinical study of Lipoxen's vaccine candidate for the prevention of hepatitis-E. Although less serious than the chronic "B" and "C" forms of hepatitis, hepatitis-E is potentially fatal, and is particularly dangerous in pregnant women. Currently there is no vaccine for hepatitis-E.

The collaborative study to determine the vaccine's safety and efficacy was conducted using Lipoxen's proprietary ImuXen formulation technology, coupled with manufacturing expertise of the Serum Institute of India Ltd and the virology expertise of the National Institute of Virology, Pune, India.

The new liposomal vaccine gave rise to a very strong antibody response against the vaccine immunogen. After vaccination, there was complete protection from liver disease, as demonstrated by measurement of liver enzymes, and the lack of virus shedding as a result of infection, measured by the sensitive technique of "nested PCR", following exposure to the live virus. Clinical trials are planned for the first half of 2007.