Aphios
awarded grant from NIAID, NIH for Development of Controlled
Release HIV Vaccine Adjuvant
January
29, 2001
— Aphios
Corporation has been awarded a SBIR grant entitled “Development
of a Controlled Release HIV Vaccine Adjuvant” from the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National
Institutes of Health (NIH).
Under
this grant, Aphios is developing a controlled release vehicle
for HIV vaccines by utilizing biodegradable and biocompatible
polymeric nanospheres to protect and sustain the release
of HIV viral antigens. There is an urgent need to develop
efficacious, less expensive alternative interdictions for
the treatment of HIV infection and AIDS. This is particularly
true for third-world countries where the expensive cocktail
treatment of HIV infection now used in industrialized countries
is neither technically feasible nor economically possible.
“An inexpensive, safe, and effective vaccine to
induce protective immunity would be the best solution,”
comments Dr. Castor, President & CEO, Aphios Corporation.
Vaccination
remains the most cost effective tool for the control and
prevention of infectious diseases. However, multiple inoculations
are often required to achieve desirable protection even
with potent HIV antigens. Controlled release technology
will be quite effective in improving the therapeutic efficacy
of such vaccines.
Aphios has developed an enhanced controlled release technology for nanoencapsulating
potent HIV antigens by utilizing supercritical and near-critical
fluids w/wo polar cosolvents (SuperFluids™).
SuperFluids™ are normally gases which, when
compressed, exhibit enhanced solvation, penetration and
expansion properties.
Use of SuperFluids™ reduces exposure of the HIV antigens
to potentially denaturing organic solvents such as methylene
chloride and ethyl acetate and improves the stability of
protein antigens in the body at ambient temperature for
long periods, thereby enhancing the capability of nanoencapsulated
HIV vaccine antigens to induce the production of protective
and neutralizing antibodies. This controlled release vaccine
delivery technology will have the capability to deliver
different types and combinations of HIV vaccine candidates
including whole inactivated HIV virus particles and/or HIV
subunit protein antigens.
Aphios’
nanoencapsulation technology reduces cost by eliminating
unnecessary processing steps while improving the manufacturing
environment. Unlike currently available technologies, this
technology is quite inexpensive, amenable to large-scale
processing, and quite portable. The controlled or
timed release of HIV antigens through the use of this technology
would minimize or obviate the need for repeat visits to
clinics for booster inoculations in order to generate protective
immunity. This would be a tremendous benefit for any vaccine
employed in third-world countries.
Aphios
Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company which is developing
enhanced therapeutics for health maintenance and the treatment
of human diseases with a focus on CNS, cancer, AIDS and
other infectious diseases. Aphios Corporation has developed
several enabling technology platforms for enhancing the
discovery, manufacturing, delivery and safety of therapeutic
drugs, and has several products in development with three
products ready to enter clinical trials.
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