SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SutroVax, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the delivery of best-in-class conjugate vaccines and novel complex antigen-based vaccines to prevent deadly infectious diseases, today announced the addition of Dr. Bruce Forrest to the company’s preeminent Scientific Advisory Board, who are collectively responsible for inventing or developing most of today’s blockbuster vaccines.
Dr. Forrest has over 25 years of global leadership in pharmaceutical development, with extensive specialty expertise in conjugate vaccine development. As a Senior Vice President at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals until 2010, he was responsible for all post-discovery development activities in Wyeth Vaccines Research leading both clinical and pharmaceutical science development contributing to the development of Prevnar 13®. His vaccine experience at Wyeth included responsibility for clinical development of Prevnar and a 9-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and combinations; FluMist®; and clinical responsibility for the EU approval of RotaShield®. At Chiron Corporation, Dr. Forrest was the global clinical team leader for Menjugate® and the adult and adolescent acellular pertussis vaccine program. At Enterovax Limited, he was responsible for the design of the clinical programs for live attenuated typhoid and cholera vaccines.
“Dr. Forrest is renowned for his prominent role in bringing a number of critically important conjugate vaccines to the market including Prevnar®, the most commercially successful vaccine of all time. His development expertise will be invaluable as we work to harness the Xpress CF platform to deliver the next generation of vaccines to address major and persistent infectious diseases,” said Grant Pickering, Chief Executive Officer of SutroVax.
Conjugate vaccines comprise the largest segment of the vaccine industry, with annual sales approaching $10 billion across multiple licensed indications, including pneumococcus, meningitis, and H flu. By far the largest of those indications is the pneumococcus market, with annual sales of nearly $6 billion. Despite the successes to date, there are not only a significant number of additional bacterial strains that have yet to be incorporated into current conjugate vaccines, but also many infectious diseases that have yet to be addressed using this potent modality.
“The SutroVax technology is uniquely enabling. The ability to conjugate site-specifically may well allow the development of broader spectrum vaccines than available today and more potent conjugates to create novel vaccines beyond the reach of other technologies. I look forward to working with the SutroVax team to realize the full potential of this platform,” commented Dr. Forrest.
About Xpress CF
The Xpress CF platform allows for efficient conjugation of antigens to precise positions on carrier proteins via the incorporation of multiple non-natural amino acid (nnAA) substitutions to permit click chemistry attachment. This precise and robust technique results in homogeneous and consistent vaccines that promise to confer important immunological and clinical benefits relative to current conjugate vaccines. Pinpointing the placement of the antigen on the carrier has the potential to improve host immune responses by avoiding the discrete sites on the carrier responsible for T-cell help, which are often impinged by current conjugation methods. Furthermore, the precise optimization of antigen positioning on the carrier protein allows the attachment of multiple antigenic constructs to a single protein carrier, which will facilitate the production of broader spectrum vaccines. These improvements have the potential to deliver best-in-class conjugate vaccines that will have the potential to deliver heightened immunity, broader protection and can be both more easily characterized and consistently produced as a result of our high-yield, streamlined and industrialized production process.
New Website
SutroVax also unveiled a new corporate logo and updated corporate website: www.sutrovax.com.
About SutroVax
SutroVax is an independent vaccine platform and development company whose mission is to deliver best-in-class conjugate vaccines and novel complex antigen-based vaccines to prevent deadly infectious diseases. The company is leveraging its exclusive license to Sutro Biopharma’s Xpress CF platforms to perform cell-free protein synthesis and site-specific conjugation for the field of vaccines. SutroVax closed its Series A round in 2015 and is financed by an international syndicate of experienced, blue-chip venture capital and corporate venture investors. For more information, visit www.sutrovax.com.
Contact: Grant Pickering
Chief Executive Officer
Email: gpickering@sutrovax.com
www.sutrovax.com
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SOURCE SutroVax
