This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Antibody vaccine for treatment of type 1 diabetes enters preclinical trial
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Neovacs, a French company specializing in immunotherapies, will begin studying its interferon-alpha kinoid vaccine for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in collaboration with French researchers at the Cochin Hospital in Paris, according to a company press release
IFN-alpha kinoid produces polyclonal neutralizing antibodies to interrupt IFN-alpha. Overexpression of this protein is a signature of type 1 diabetes.
The preclinical study will test the vaccine on non-obese diabetic mice to evaluate whether the neutralizing antibodies are effective on IFN-alpha.
“This collaboration confirms the interest in our technology and its potential,” Miguel Sieler, CEO of Neovacs, said in the release. “It also supports our confidence in the development of therapeutic vaccines, especially with our IFN-alpha kinoid. ... It is urgent to address the unmet medical needs associated with type 1 diabetes, and we believe that our technology has the potential to meet the expectations of the scientific community in this field. We are confident that this collaboration will produce actionable results and will provide important answers about developing a targeted treatment for type 1 diabetes, responding to the concerns of patients.”
The vaccine was studied in a phase 1 and 2 trial on lupus, which is also characterized by the IFN signature. It was able to neutralize the signature with a long-term positive effect, according to the release.
Disclosure: Sieler is the CEO of Neovacs.