Bioggio, Switzerland, 5 September 2011- Telormedix, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on TLR7 agonists in the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases, today announced that it has raised funding from the European Eurostars Programme to coordinate a two-year research project aimed at developing liposomes for vaccine and adjuvant delivery. The project, operating under the acronym LIPODEL, will have a total budget of €729,500.
The project’s main focus will be to enhance technologies in order to improve immune responses for preventive and curative purposes.Telormedix will coordinate three research teams to develop liposomes targeting monocytes and plasmacytoid pre-dendritic cells co-delivering TLR7 agonists for immunotherapy. LIPODEL liposomes will then be used to assemble a Group B Streptococcus vaccine candidate. The three additional research teams participating in the LIPODEL project are: Minervax ApS (Denmark); Technical University of Denmark (Denmark); and Bioneer A/S (Denmark).
Dr. Alcide Barberis, Head of Research and Collaborations at Telormedix, has been appointed as the project’s scientific coordinator.
Dr. Barberis commented: “We are delighted to have received funding from the Eurostars Programme to coordinate the LIPODEL project. We intend for this to be the beginning of a rewarding collaboration with Minervax, Technical University of Denmark and Bioneer- we look forward to working with them to improve immunotherapy and develop effective vaccine candidates for Group B Streptococcus.”
Dr. Johanna Holldack, CEO at Telormedix, added: “These Eurostars awards are much sought after and we consider it prestigious to be awarded one for our novel and promising adjuvant program.”
The Eurostars Programme is the European funding and support programme specifically dedicated to stimulating international collaborative research and innovation projects of small and medium enterprises. For further information on the Eurostars Programme, please visit: www.eurostars-eureka.eu
Further Information:
Dr. Alcide Barberis
LIPODEL Project Coordinator
Telormedix SA
t: +41 (0)91 610 7036
e: abarberis@telormedix.com
Dr. Robert Mayer
Senior Account Manager
College Hill Life Sciences
t : +49 (0)89 5238 8030
e: robert.mayer@collegehill.com
About Telormedix
Telormedix (www.telormedix.com), founded in October 2007, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on targeted immunity and modulation of the innate immune system for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases. The Company’s lead product, TMX-101, recently entered a Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC).
In addition, Telormedix is developing two TLR7-targeted molecules, TMX-201 and TMX-202, as a vaccine adjuvant. One of these molecules, TMX-202, has recently been selected also for preclinical study for the topical treatment of skin cancers and other indications. The candidate has already successfully completed a number of in vivo studies.
About Minervax
Minervax (www.minervax.com), founded in January 2010, is developing a novel Group B Streptococcus (GBS) vaccine candidate that elicits protective immunity against the clinically most important GBS strains. Minervax has developed a novel vaccine candidate based on so-called non-immunodominant domains from two GBS surface proteins, Rib and alpha. A fusion protein, designated NN and based on the two non-immunodominant domains, it elicits a strong antibody response, even without adjuvant, and is highly protective against the clinically most important isolates of GBS as proven in both passive and active immunization experiments. In addition to its potential as a GBS vaccine, NN is of interest for use as a carrier in conjugate vaccines.
About Technical University of Denmark
The Department of Micro and Nanotechnology at the Technical University of Denmark (www.nanotech.dtu.dk), established in 1990, is a centre of excellence in micro- and nanotechnology-exploiting sciences across the traditional boundaries of technology, thereby enabling innovative solutions for the benefit of society. It applies micro- and nanotechnology within the life sciences, environment & energy and sensing technologies.
Life science research at DTU Nanotech concerns development of micro- and nanotechnology offering a competitive edge to cell biology, diagnostics and drug delivery. The group’s work is focused on the research and development of nanoscale materials. Examples of such materials include liposomes and polymer based nanocarriers, gold and iron oxide nanoparticles; nanoparticle-based markers for CT/PET imaging and cancer diagnostics, and sensor systems-polymer based particles/constructs for quantification of the biological milieu in living cells.
About Bioneer
Bioneer (www.bioneer.dk) is an independent, not-for-profit research-based service company within biomedicine. It has more than 25 years of experience in developing platform technology for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Within the last 10 years, extensive resources have been allocated in order to develop in vitro models based on human cells. Bioneer has a broad commercial network within Europe and has established several long-lasting connections with biotech as well as pharma companies.
