EPALINGES, Switzerland – February 21, 2013 – Anergis, a company developing
breakthrough allergy vaccines for fast and safe allergen-specific immunotherapy, reported
today that it will present preclinical data for its ragweed allergy vaccine at the 2013 Annual
Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) in San
Antonio, TX.* The results demonstrate the hypoallergenicity of AllerR and the successful
recognition of the natural ragweed allergen Amb a 1 by the mouse immune system after
immunization with AllerR.
The poster no. 136 will be presented on Saturday, February 23, 2013, at 9:45am CST in
session no. 2210 “Immunotherapy I” at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Street
Level, Exhibit Hall C. The abstract of the poster titled “Non-Detectable IgE Binding of an Amb
a 1 Derived, Contiguous Overlapping Peptide Based, SIT Product Candidate Against
Ragweed Allergy” is available at:
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0091-6749/PIIS0091674912028163.pdf
AllerR is a mix of seven Contiguous Overlapping Peptides (COPs) derived from the COP
platform of Anergis. In the experiments, AllerR showed no detectable IgE binding in
competition ELISA tests using sera from allergic patients and did not induce degranulation of
humanized basophil cells, a standard test used to test the ability of a protein or peptide to
elicit an allergic reaction in humans. In addition, mice sensitized to the natural allergen Amb
a 1 showed no reactivity to AllerR, whereas the administration of Amb a 1 in these animals
lead to anaphylactic responses. The immunogenicity of AllerR was also tested in naïve mice
and showed that each COP composing AllerR elicited an antibody response and that these
antibodies specifically recognized the natural Amb a 1 allergen.
“We have shown that antibodies raised against AllerR in mice recognize Amb a 1 and that
each COP contributes to AllerR immunogenicity,” said Christophe Reymond, Chief Scientific
Officer of Anergis. “Combined with its absence of any detectable binding to IgEs of allergic
patients, these properties make AllerR an excellent candidate for development of a novel
COP allergy vaccine against ragweed pollen allergy.”
“We received positive feedback from the U.S. FDA last year when we discussed the AllerR
early development program and the preparation of the first clinical trial of AllerR in patients
allergic to ragweed pollen,” added Vincent Charlon, CEO of Anergis. “Our goal is to start a
Phase I/IIa clinical trial in 2014.”
In the U.S., ragweed pollen allergy is the major cause of hay fever: 75% of all patients
suffering from pollen allergies carry a ragweed pollen allergy. It affects about 20% of the U.S.
population and is also on the rise in Europe due to the spread of ragweed (Ambrosia genus)
plants accidentally introduced to Europe. The major allergenic protein has been identified as
Amb a 1, a 38 kDa non-glycosylated protein composed of two subunits.
*The poster entitled “Non-Detectable IgE Binding of an Amb a 1 Derived, Contiguous Overlapping
Peptide Based, SIT Product Candidate Against Ragweed Allergy” is also being published in The
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology - February 2013 (Vol. 131, Issue 2, Supplement, Page
AB37, DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.12.815)
About Anergis
Anergis SA is a Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and
development of novel allergy vaccines targeting the most frequent allergies. Anergis´
vaccines are based on its proprietary Continuous Overlapping Peptides technology. Allergies
are the most prevalent and the fastest growing chronic conditions in the industrialized world,
with over 500 million people affected.
Anergis’ lead-product AllerT, a vaccine to treat birch pollen allergies, is in Phase II clinical
development. AllerR, its second vaccine candidate for the treatment of patients with allergy
to ragweed pollen, has recently reached important preclinical milestones and received
positive feedback from the U.S. FDA for the subsequent clinical development program in
June 2012. Anergis has raised over CHF 22 million from Renaissance PME-Vinci Capital,
Sunstone Capital, BioMedInvest and other investors including Esperante Ventures and Defi
Gestion.
About Anergis´ Contiguous Overlapping Peptides Technology (COPs)
The only curative therapy of allergies available today, known as “desensitization” or “Specific
Immunotherapy” (SIT), is a process of induction of tolerance to the allergen requiring 3-5
years of treatment and exposing patients to the risk of serious side effects. Anergis has
developed a next-generation concept of SIT: vaccines based on COPs (Contiguous
Overlapping Peptides), which reproduce the full-length amino acid sequence of the allergen
in separate long peptides. COPs do not cross-react with IgE, the antibody class responsible
for eliciting allergic hypersensitivity. Therefore, COPs can be safely administered at high
doses to induce tolerance to the allergen after few injections only. Studies of COPs targeting
bee venom and birch pollen allergies in both animals and humans have demonstrated
excellent safety (no immediate allergic reaction) and immunogenicity (production of specific
antibodies and cytokines against the original allergen and establishment of a long term
immune memory).
Contact:
Anergis SA
CH-1066 Epalinges
Vincent Charlon, CEO
info@anergis.ch
Media Inquiries:
akampion
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