Adenovirus (Ad) vectors are highly attractive for a wide range of gene therapy, vaccine and virotherapy applications. Vector efficacy in the clinical context, however, is limited by humoral response due to pre-existing titers of neutralizing antibodies against the vector itself. This applies particularly to the commonly used adenovirus serotypes 2 and 5.
Only now, adenovirus vectors from serotype Ad19a have become broadly available for the discovery community. Using this new seroytpe means overcoming pre-existing Ad5 immunity. Alt-hough other adenovirus serotype vectors from humans and other species (Ad35 and rh63) have shown promising results in clinical phase II and III vaccine trials against infectious diseases, they are proprietary and not available to the general research community.
Munich based SIRION Biotech is launching a new program dedicated to preclinical and clinical development of Ad19a vectors. The vector is offered for collaborative projects with SIRION Bio-tech to the research community aiming at improving humoral and cellular immune responses in vaccination protocols.
Ad19a is being constructed using AdenoOne(TM) , a patent-pending technology based on bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC). AdenoONE(TM) is superior to common technologies and has been used successfully to isolate and stabilize otherwise instable adenovirus genomes including the rare human adenovirus type 19a. Specifically, genomes cloned in BAC vectors are more stable, allow for precise genetic (adenovirus) genome manipulation and for the generation of complex expression libraries. The brand new Ad19a vector shows a very high degree of transduction of immune cells, including human DC cells and B-cells. It displays a 10-fold higher gene expression in human DC cells and other human cell types compared to Ad5. Ad19a is a rare adenovirus serotype with low seroprevalence in the Western human population. BAC technology reduces the risk for recombination and introduction of mutations into the recombinant vector genomes.
Partnering with SIRION Biotech means access to this first-time commercially available human adenovirus serotype vector and fast and precise generation of Ad19a vector constructs, thanks to AdenoONE(TM) technology.
SIRION Biotech was founded in 2006 in Munich and maintains offices in Tokyo and New Hamp-shire. It stands for sophisticated cell modeling and viral vector platforms. These enable much improved target identification and compound screening in the drug, the food & cosmetic indus-tries. Its technology has over the years been validated in more than 250 commercial projects with more than 70 academic and industrial organizations worldwide. As a result, primary cell immortalizations are being technically advanced, so are the recombinant virus vector construc-tion serving for gene therapy applications and novel vaccines.
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