Influenza Iomai is pursuing two opportunities for the prevention of influenza. The company is using TCI technology to formulate a vaccine patch designed to replace traditional injectable vaccines, and a patch designed to improve the effectiveness of injectable vaccine in the elderly is under development.
The needle-free vaccine patch is designed to replace the current standard of care, the injected influenza vaccine. The vaccination rate in the United States is growing—80 million are now vaccinated annually, and public health officials plan to vaccinate up to 185 million individuals by 2010. Still, as many as 60 million are sickened with influenza each year in the United States, and about 36,000 die. A vaccine patch would help boost vaccination rates while addressing concerns about convenience, ease of administration and supply.
The Iomai influenza vaccine contains both influenza antigens and immune-boosting adjuvants. A Phase 1 trial found that the use of the patch with traditional split-virus vaccine antigen prompted a less-robust immune response than seen in traditional injected vaccines. We are now examining other types of flu antigens that may be better suited for Iomai's innovative patch technology.
The immunostimulant (IS) patch for elderly patients is designed to augment the existing injectable influenza vaccine and is applied like an adhesive bandage over the injection site. Influenza, influenza-related pneumonia and related respiratory complications are one of the leading causes of death among the elderly, and our IS patch, when administered in combination with existing flu vaccines, is designed to improve the immune response of the elderly to these flu vaccines.
Clinical studies of the IS patch, which contains an adjuvant to stimulate an immune response, have shown that the patch can restore immune function levels similar to that seen in young patients. Anthrax Iomai has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) to perform preclinical work on a patch-based version of the anthrax vaccine. Under the 1-year grant, Iomai scientists will apply the company’s technology in an effort to formulate a dry version of an anthrax antigen that can be combined with an Iomai adjuvant on a needle-free patch. Iomai will then evaluate the stability of the patch to determine whether it can be stored and shipped at room temperature. The current anthrax vaccine licensed in the United States is given as a six-shot regimen over an 18-month course and must be refrigerated, complicating stockpiling efforts. Government funding for a second-generation vaccine was discontinued after problems emerged with the stability of that vaccine.
Immunostimulant Patch for Use with Merck Vaccine Iomai has entered a research and development agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. to conduct proof-of-principle preclinical studies evaluating the use of Iomai’s needle-free immunostimulant patch with an undisclosed Merck vaccine. Merck has first option to negotiate an exclusive license.
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