Apr 15, 2009
By STEVE PROCTOR Business Editor
A Halifax vaccine development company is helping the military find new ways to guard against the impact of biological warfare.
Marc Mansour, vice-president of research and development with ImmunoVaccine Technologies, said Tuesday his firm has inked a three-year research agreement with Defence Research and Development Canada to try to improve the effectiveness of vaccines used to protect against threats like anthrax.
"This is a bio-defence application we’re working on," said Mr. Mansour, who holds a docorate from Dalhousie University. "There haven’t been a lot of anthrax scares lately, but its distribution by people who want to wreak havoc is not something that can be taken lightly."
Defence Research and Development Canada is a world leader in developing vaccines to fight deadly microbial pathogens.
But Mr. Mansour said it’s possible the delivery model that was developed by ImmunoVaccine for improving the effectiveness of cancer vaccines may also improve an individual’s immune response to an anti-anthrax vaccine.
Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium.
Infection with anthrax is potentially life threatening. To protect individuals who may come in contact with anthrax, immunization now consists of three injections given two weeks apart, followed by three additional injections given at six, 12 and 18 months. Annual booster injections of the vaccine are recommended thereafter.
With an ImmunoVaccine delivery model slowing the delivery of active vaccine elements and boosting their effectiveness, he said the treatment regime in the future may be less arduous.
The research will not initially involve any anthrax directly, so no special handling or precautions are required.
If the result is eventually tested on animals, Defence Research and Development Canada has the required secure testing facilities.
Mr. Mansour said the testing partnership is exciting, not just because of the immediate application, but because it underscores the broad range of applications to which the model can be applied.
Last month, the company signed an agreement with the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology to test its delivery system to advance the development of vaccines against influenza and arenavirus.
The institute is a non-profit biomedical research centre and international leader in immunology research.
The company’s preclinical research shows that its technology can reduce the number of vaccine doses required for protective immunity to only one dose. In an earlier release, the company said a single-dose rapid-response vaccine is a potential solution for effective control of a global influenza outbreak.
ImmunoVaccine, a spinoff company created by Dalhousie University’s research laboratories, has raised $11 million from private investment sources and received $5 million in grants.
(sproctor@herald.ca)
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