New results published on Pharmexa's PADRE® epitope in Alzheimer's vaccine

08-29-2006: A group of scientists from the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Huntington Beach (California) and the Institute of Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California has published new pre-clinical data on an experimental Alzheimer's vaccine incorporating Pharmexa's proprietary PADRE® epitope. The results are published in the recent edition of Vaccine (vol. 24, 2275-2282).

The prototype vaccine, a combination of a fragment of the Abeta peptide and Pharmexa's PADRE® epitope, gave rise to high anti-Abeta antibody titers in vaccinated mice. No unwanted cellular immune responses were detected, and there were no signs of side effects in the brains of the animals. These independent data therefore confirm Pharmexa's hypotheses that a safe and effective Alzheimer's vaccine may be developed using dominant helper cell epitopes such as PADRE® that will alleviate the side effects observed with earlier Abeta vaccines.

The Abeta peptide is believed to have a central role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Pharmexa, in collaboration with H. Lundbeck, as well as other pharmaceutical and biotech companies, has therefore been targeting the Abeta peptide for a therapeutic Alzheimer's vaccine.