AFFiRiS AG: Atherosclerosis Vaccine Development Receives EU Support

VIENNA, Austria, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The atherosclerosis vaccine
development program by AFFiRiS AG is receiving financial support from the
EU's EUROTRANS-BIO call. The respective project is being carried out in
cooperation with German company EMC microcollections GmbH. The aim of
atherosclerosis vaccination is to increase the amount of "good" high density
lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) in the blood and thus reduce the occurrence of
harmful fatty deposits in the arteries. Product candidates were delivered by
AFFiRiS' AFFITOME(R) platform technology. The target is a protein known as
CETP (cholesteryl ester transfer protein). Following vaccines for Alzheimer's
disease and Parkinson's disease, the atherosclerosis vaccine is the third
such project announced by AFFiRiS AG.
Vienna-based AFFiRiS AG today 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(R) technology of AFFiRiS AG and is being conducted together with EMC
microcollections GmbH from Tubingen, Germany. The urgent need for an
effective strategy against atherosclerosis is clearly evident from the
relevant figures - diseases of the cardiovascular system are the number one
cause of death in Europe and the US. In Europe, this is at the root of almost
50 % of all deaths. One of the primary causes of cardiovascular disease is
atherosclerosis, a narrowing of key arteries due to fatty deposits. Although
there are options for medication-based intervention in the form of statins,
these are deemed to be of limited effectiveness despite some notable
successes.
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.
Outlining the major benefit of the AFFITOME(R) technology, project
manager Dr. Sylvia Brunner adds: "CETP is one of the body's own proteins.
Trying to reduce its activity using a vaccine, we are faced with a formidable
challenge. The body has many means of suppressing an immune response to its
own proteins, or limiting the effectiveness of any such response. That's why
previous attempts to develop a vaccine against CETP failed. However, as
AFFiRiS has already demonstrated in its work on a vaccine for Alzheimer's
disease, the AFFITOME(R) technology makes it possible to circumvent these
mechanisms. We are now applying this principle to atherosclerosis."
CEO Dr. Walter Schmidt continues: "So far, we have announced the
development of vaccines for three diseases - Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and now
atherosclerosis. Currently, four other indications are also part of our
development pipeline, all of them characterised by a very high number of
patients but also by a lack of satisfactory treatments. As a result, these
indications fit in well with our long-term strategy. Our strategy itself is
beginning to pay back as demonstrated by the licensing agreement worth EUR
430 million that we recently concluded with GSK Biologicals regarding the
rights for the technology for our Alzheimer's vaccine programs."
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.
About AFFiRiS AG (as at May 2009):
AFFiRiS AG develops customised peptide-based vaccines based on its own
patents. These are used to treat Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis,
Parkinson's disease and other diseases that urgently require a medical
solution and for which the market volumes are highly attractive. Alzheimer's
disease is currently the foremost indication and two potential products are
in the final stages of clinical phase I studies. In October 2008, the company
succeeded in gaining GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals as its licensing partner for
the Alzheimer's vaccine. The contract foresees payments of up to EUR 430
million (these payments are dependent on certain milestones). AFFiRiS
currently employs 50 highly-qualified staff and recently acquired an
additional 1,100 square meters of premises at the St. Marx campus in Vienna,
Austria (http://www.affiris.com).
Contact at AFFiRiS AG:
Agnes Meyer
Karl-Farkas-Gasse 22
1030 Vienna
Austria
T +43-1-798-15-75-390
E agnes.meyer@affiris.com

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SOURCE AFFiRiS AG

Contact at AFFiRiS AG: Agnes Meyer, T +43-1-798-15-75-390, E
agnes.meyer@affiris.com. Copy Editing & Distribution: PR&D - Public Relations
for Research & Education, Campus Vienna Biocenter 2, T +43-1-505-70-44, E
contact@prd.at