CHARLEROI, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During the inauguration of its new building, the Belgian Biotech Company Delphi Genetics SA announced that the first antibiotic-free DNA vaccine using the Staby® technology was efficiently tested in vivo. Together with academic and Biotech key-players, Delphi Genetics is participating to the DNAVAC project funded by the Walloon Region (BioWin project). The aim of the project is to develop and produce antibiotic-free DNA vaccines targeting veterinary diseases. As a model, the consortium developed a DNA vaccine against the Aujezsky virus the causative agent of pseudo-rabies. “This virus was selected as it causes systematically an acute and lethal disease in susceptible species, thereby providing an excellent model to test the efficacy of a vaccine candidate. The results of the challenge performed by Dr Anca Reschner are very clear: all vaccinated animals using the Staby® vectors were resistant to the lethal Aujeszky virus.” said Prof. Alain Vanderplasschen from the University of Liège (Immunology-Vaccinology). Cédric Szpirer PhD, Delphi Genetics co-Founder and CEO, explained: “This is the first real DNA vaccine produced using the Staby® technology. Several DNA vectors have been made in the past to generate production of antibodies, but this is the first time that in vivo tests were performed in order to evaluate efficiency against a disease. All production steps of the vaccine were performed efficiently avoiding completely the use of antibiotic-resistance genes as recommended by regulatory authorities (FDA, USDA, EMA). These results validate the use of Staby® outside the field of protein production.”
