Medicago: production of influenza virus-like particles in plants

[Coleman]

Medicago: production of influenza virus-like particles in plants

// 23 Oct 2007

Medicago Inc. announces a breakthrough by using its proprietary expression system to produce a vaccine candidate for H5N1 avian influenza in highly immunogenic particles called Virus-Like Particles (VLPs).

According to the company, VLPs have significant advantages over conventional vaccines as they are known to enhance immunity and therefore increase protection against diseases.
These particles are similar to the virus from which they were derived from; however they lack viral nucleic acid, which results in the best compromise between safety (not infectious) and efficacy (highly immunogenic).
Medical potential
"Our transient expression system which produces recombinant vaccine antigens in the cells of non-transgenic plants has demonstrated its efficiency and medical potential by successfully producing the H5N1 Avian Influenza vaccine candidate in VLPs," said Dr Louis Vezina, chief scientific officer of Medicago.
Advantage over traditional egg-based and cell culture technologies
"VLPs offer a promising avenue for the development of effective vaccines for diseases such as the constantly evolving H5N1 Avian Influenza. Our unique ability to rapidly deliver vaccines that can protect against the multiple variations of viruses will, in our opinion, give our technology a critical advantage over traditional egg-based and cell culture technologies. Using our proprietary plant-based technology, we believe we now have the ability to deliver a VLP vaccine for testing a month after the identification and reception of genetic sequences from the pandemic strain," said Andy Sheldon, president and chief executive officer of Medicago.
Medicago has initiated preclinical studies with its proprietary VLP against H5N1 Avian Influenza virus and is now accumulating data. It is expected results from this first study will be published in the coming weeks.

http://www.worldpoultry.net/home/id2205-34009/medicago_production_of_influenza_virus-like_particles_in_plants.html

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Medicago: production of influenza virus-like particles in plants

Now that is thinking outside the box. Kudos.

[gsgs]

Re: Medicago: production of influenza virus-like particles in plants

http://chart.globeinvestor.com/servlet/charting?chart_type=png&lang=EN&chart_style=stock_price_volume&period=3YRW&listing_id=278155&comp_listing_1=&comp_listing_2=&comp_listing_3=&avg_1=&avg_2=

investors don't seem to believe in that "technological milestone"

http://www2.medicago.com/en/

[tropical]

Re: Medicago: production of influenza virus-like particles in plants

"recombinant vaccine antigens in the cells of non-transgenic plants"

Finaly an technology which is not dependant on mammalian cells!

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Medicago: production of influenza virus-like particles in plants

Medicago Achieves Positive Preclinical Study Results for Proprietary H5N1 Influenza VLP Vaccine

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QUEBEC CITY, Oct. 31 /CNW/ - Medicago Inc. (TSX-V: MDG) today announced that preclinical testing of its pandemic H5N1 Influenza Virus-Like Particles("VLP") vaccine has shown positive results.

Medicago's Influenza VLP vaccine triggered a strong protective immune response against the lethal H5N1 Indonesia strain currently in circulation.

"We are extremely pleased with the results from this study. Our VLP vaccine offers in our opinion a highly promising avenue and could play a vital role in the world's response to a flu pandemic. We also believe our proprietary transient expression system will allow us to produce VLP vaccines faster and at lower cost than our competitors using cell culture techniques,"said Andy Sheldon President and Chief Executive Officer of Medicago.

"By combining our VLPs and plant-based manufacturing system, we intend to position Medicago to significantly increase the speed of a public health response inthe event of an outbreak. This is important as we continue our discussions with potential partners. We expect to initiate a lethal challenge study withour VLP vaccine in the coming weeks."

"These studies represent an important step towards the production of a safe and efficacious pandemic vaccine. Our Influenza VLP vaccine demonstrated it can provide a protective antibody response at doses as low as 1 micro g,"said Dr. Louis Vezina, Medicago's Chief Scientific Officer.

"In addition, our ability to potentially deliver a vaccine in a short time frame could prove critical in meeting a surge in global demand in the midst of a pandemic crisis."

The objective of Medicago's preclinical studies was to determine the optimal dosage of its VLP vaccine. Intra muscular and intranasal deliveryroutes were investigated with and without an adjuvant.

At the start of preclinical trial, mice were immunized with Medicago's VLP with doses ranging from 1 micro g to 12 micro g. A booster immunization was administered after three weeks. Results showed that the administration of Medicago's VLP vaccine stimulated a significant seroprotective immune response in all animals who received doses as low as 1 micro g. Preliminary results also showed a strong antibody response even in the absence of an adjuvant.

Studies were performed in collaboration with Dr. Brian Ward from McGill University.
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http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/31/c2067.html

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