AFFiRiS atherosclerosis vaccine development receives EU support

29-May-2009 - Austria

AFFiRiS AG announced that its atherosclerosis vaccine development program is receiving support from the EU's EUROTRANS-BIO call. The supported project - known as CETP Vaccine (ETB-2008-28) - is based on the AFFITOME® technology of AFFiRiS AG and is being conducted together with EMC microcollections GmbH from Tübingen, Germany.

CSO Dr. Frank Mattner explains: "Today's therapies with Statins act on low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and reduce its concentration in the blood. This type of treatment can reduce the likelihood of severe heart disease by as little as 30% - and that's only if the patient takes the necessary medication correctly and regularly. In contrast, our vaccine approach aims at decreasing the cholesterol transfer from HDL to LDL, thus increasing the concentration of the beneficial HDL. This vaccine approach with its long-lasting effects should avoid patients having to take life-long, daily medication to a strict regimen."

The main item of the joint efforts of AFFiRiS and EMC is the vaccination against cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP). By transferring cholesteryl ester from HDLc to LDLc and VLDLc, this protein reduces "good" HDL and has a detrimental impact on the ratio of LDLc to HDLc. In the future, our vaccine will reduce the activity of this protein and shift the balance of HDLc and LDLc in the blood back in favour of HDLc.

The CETP Vaccine project is scheduled to last 30 months and is due to culminate in phase I clinical trials. Overall, the support provided to the project by the EU is worth several hundred thousand euros, while the two project partners are bearing around half of the total costs.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/101390/affiris-atherosclerosis-vaccine-development-receives-eu-support.html