The new generation of vaccines and immunotherapies being developed by the biopharmaceutical industry to target chronic infectious diseases and cancer require complex immune responses to be effective.
New classes of immunological adjuvants will provide the immune system stimulation necessary to induce these immune responses.
One of the core technologies developed by CSL is our ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant which is now ready for use in the broad commercialisation of a new generation of human vaccines.
Adjuvants enhance or modify the immune response to antigens which are substances (usually proteins) that stimulate the body's immune system to produce antibodies. Bacteria, viruses and allergens are among the most common sources of antigens and cellular responses. Correctly formulated, the ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant forms particles that look like viruses to the immune system. These adjuvant particles can be formulated with specific antigens to produce new and improved vaccines.
A lot of work has been carried out to optimise the manufacturing process for our ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant and to ensure the technology has both unique activities and potential to be manufactured on an industrial scale. Important for regulatory and partnering reasons, we now also more fully understand how our adjuvant works.
CSL’s ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant is combined with specific antigens to produce vaccines. The adjuvanted vaccines will generate potent and durable antibody responses, allow lower doses of antigen to be used to generate the same immune response, and induce cellular (T-cell) immune responses. These T-cell responses are considered necessary to allow development of a new generation of immunotherapeutic products, as opposed to the traditional preventative vaccines on the market today.
CSL has had an important collaboration with Merck & Co. Inc. involving CSL’s ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant. Merck has been testing the adjuvant in preclinical experiments. CSL has entered into a broad ISCOMATRIX® license and option agreement with Merck. We will work with Merck across a range of vaccines that address both infectious and non-infectious diseases.
Immunotherapeutic vaccine projects include collaborations with Chiron Corporation to develop an HCV immunotherapeutic, SanofiPasteur on Chlamydia and treatments for cancer with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.
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