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Cytos Biotechnology develops novel vaccines for the treatment and prevention of common chronic diseases. Current R&D programs focus on six main disease areas:
| Respiratory diseases Nicotine addiction: According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.3 billion people smoke today. With 5 million tobacco-related deaths per year, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the world today, primarily caused by lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. For more information click here. Cytos Biotechnology is developing an Immunodrug™ candidate to treat nicotine addiction that comprises nicotine covalently coupled to the virus-like particle Qb. Vaccination with this vaccine candidate aims at induction of nicotine-specific antibodies that bind nicotine in the blood and reduce nicotine uptake into the brain. In this way, stimulation of nicotine-perceptive neurons in the brain should be prevented and the addiction-driving and satisfaction-inducing stimulus of nicotine reduced. The Immunodrug™ candidate means to prevent relapses after quitting and should help people to break their pattern of addiction to nicotine in the long-term. In April 2007, Cytos Biotechnology entered an exclusive license agreement with Novartis to develop, manufacture and commercialize this novel vaccine candidate to treat nicotine addiction. Novartis will be responsible for late-stage clinical development and commercialization of the vaccine. Allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma: Allergy as a whole is a multi-faceted disease and manifests itself clinically in various allergic disorders including allergic rhinitis, asthma, and food hypersensitivity. It is an exaggerated reaction by the patient’s immune system to a normally harmless substance (called the allergen) such as various environmental proteins present in pollen, animal dander, or food. According to the World Health Organization, more than 20% of the world population suffers from allergic diseases. For more information click here. Cytos Biotechnology is developing a novel immunotherapy to treat allergic diseases and asthma. It is based on Cytos Biotechnology’s modified Immunodrug™ platform, which applies immunostimulatory DNA sequences. CYT003-QbG10 is designed as a disease-modifying treatment and aims to alter the immunological milieu and the allergic immune cell responses to ameliorate the disease. Nervous system diseases Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disease that alters the brain, causing impaired memory, thinking and behaviour. The onset of Alzheimer’s disease is usually after 65 years of age, though earlier onset is not uncommon. It is estimated that there are about 18 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease worldwide (WHO, 2006). As life expectancy increases in the population, this will have an obvious implication for the total number of individuals living with this disorder in the future. For more information click here. In collaboration with Novartis, Cytos Biotechnology is developing an Immunodrug™ candidate against Alzheimer’s disease. This investigational immunotherapy, called CAD106, leads to generation of antibodies against the beta-amyloid peptide and aims to prevent the formation of specific plaques in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease patients. Cardiovascular diseases Hypertension: Hypertension, also termed high blood pressure, is one of the most important preventable causes of premature death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, it affects up to 30% of adults in most countries. It is one of the major risk factors for stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and vascular disease, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure. Cytos Biotechnology is developing a therapeutic vaccine, CYT006-AngQb, designed to instruct the patient’s immune system to produce an antibody response against angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is a small peptide in the body and part of the renin-angiotensin system, which is an important regulator of blood pressure. Angiotensin II causes blood vessels to narrow, resulting in increased blood pressure. Vaccination with CYT006-AngQb aims to reduce blood pressure by induction of antibodies that bind angiotensin II. Due to the long-lasting vaccine effect, CYT006-AngQb treatment should allow for convenient dosing schedules and a smooth control of blood pressure. Atherosclerosis: Atherosclerosis describes a disease process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. This build-up is called plaque. Plaques can grow large enough to significantly reduce the blood flow through an artery, but most of the damage occurs when they become fragile and rupture. Plaques that rupture cause blood clots to form that can block the blood flow or that break off and travel to another part of the body. Such blockages can cause heart attacks, strokes, difficulties in walking and eventually gangrene. For more information click here. CYT004-MelQbG10 is a therapeutic vaccine in development for the treatment of malignant melanoma. The vaccine candidate is based on Cytos Biotechnology’s modified Immunodrug™ platform, which applies immunostimulatory DNA sequences to induce targeted T cell responses. The vaccine aims at activation of Melan-A-specific T cells (killer cells) with the ability to recognize and destroy melanoma cells. Metabolic diseases Type II diabetes: Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases that is characterized by high blood glucose (sugar) levels caused by a lack of the hormone insulin or by an inability of the body’s tissues to respond properly to insulin. Type II diabetes represents the most common form of diabetes (90% of all cases) and is largely the result of excessive overweight and physical inactivity. The disease has reached epidemic proportions and more than 200 million people worldwide are affected (IDF, 2009). Traditionally considered a disease of adults, type II diabetes is increasingly diagnosed in children in parallel to rising obesity rates. Health consequences of diabetes can be serious and include kidney failure, diabetic retinopathy, and cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack. For more information, click here. Cytos Biotechnology seeks to develop a therapeutic vaccine, CYT013-IL1bQb, designed to instruct the patient’s immune system to produce an antibody response against interleukin 1-beta. Interleukin 1-beta is a proinflammatory cytokine that has been implicated to play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Inflammation/autoimmunity Rheumatoid arthritis: According to the World Health Organization, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects 0.3-1% of the world population. It is a chronic disabling condition often causing pain and deformity and is characterized by a massive infiltration of synovial joints (mostly hands, knees and feet) by immune cells such as T cells, macrophages, B cells, and others, which cause chronic inflammation and progressive damage to cartilage and bone. For more information click here. Cytos Biotechnology seeks to develop an Immunodrug™ candidate to treat RA and other inflammatory diseases which targets the inflammatory mediator tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). TNF-alpha has been described as a key molecule in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Multiple sclerosis: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). It primarily affects adults with an age of onset typically between 20 and 50 years. Today, over 2.5 million people around the world have MS (MS International Federation, 2007). It is not known what exactly causes the disease, but a combination of environmental, immunological and genetic factors is thought to play a role. The disease process results in inflammation and damage to myelin, a protective sheath surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system. Because myelin aids the conduction of nerve signals, damage to myelin results in impaired nerve signaling and may impair normal sensation, movement, and thinking. For more information click here. Cytos Biotechnology seeks to develop an Immunodrug™ candidate to treat MS which targets an immune mediator (i.e. a cytokine) involved in the inflammatory disease process. |
