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Pharmaceutical industry

BioQuest and Biovector Collaborate on HIV Vaccine Development

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

BioQuest, Inc. has formed a strategic partnership with Biovector Therapeutics S.A. to evaluate and develop a therapeutic vaccine candidate for HIV. The collaboration focuses on the evaluation of a potential protective HIV vaccine, leveraging BioQuest's licensed technology from The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Biovector's licensed technology from French Academic Institutes, including INSERM and Institut Pasteur de Lille.

Key Takeaways:

  • BioQuest's technology, developed by Ralph Arlinghaus and Jagan Sastry, involves a "cocktail" of peptides that induce cytotoxic T-cell activation to the corresponding native HIV protein, as described in U.S. Patent 5,128,319.
  • The Arlinghaus/Sastry approach targets the production of cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTL) that can destroy HIV-infected cells.
  • Biovector's technology, patented by Jean Gerard Guillet and Helene Gras Masse, utilizes lipopeptide constructs to deliver CTL-inducing antigens through the MHC Class I pathway, integrating fragments of multiple HIV proteins.
  • A safety study in France tested lipopeptide constructs in healthy human volunteers, demonstrating their potential utility as vaccine candidates.
  • The collaboration paves the way for solving the nearly two-decade-old challenge of developing an effective HIV vaccine.

Statistics:

  • The partnership involves milestone and royalty payments between BioQuest and Biovector.
  • The vaccine technology is licensed from The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and French Academic Institutes, including INSERM and Institut Pasteur de Lille.
  • The Arlinghaus/Sastry approach has shown promise in inducing cytotoxic T-cell activation, with a patent filed in 1991 (U.S. Patent 5,128,319).
  • The Biovector technology, patented in 2000 (U.S. Patents 5,993,823 and 6,015,564), has successfully tested lipopeptide constructs in a safety study in France.

Sources:

  • BioQuest, Inc. (333 N. Sam Houston Pkwy., Ste. 1151, Houston, TX, 77060; Tel: 281/272-0000, Fax: 281/272-1149)
  • Biovector Therapeutics S.A. (Rue Chene Vert, Labege 31670, France; Tel: 05 6100 71 60; Website: www.biovector.com)
  • U.S. Patent 5,128,319
  • U.S. Patents 6,015,564 and 5,993,823
  • The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
  • INSERM (Institut National de la Sante et Recherche Medicale)
  • Institut Pasteur de Lille (IPL)

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