Abstracts

Abstract presented at Development of Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine - April 27-29, 2003, Los Angeles CA, USA

CoVal™ Fusions: A Therapeutic Vaccine Platform Utilizing Heat Shock Proteins (Hsp) to Treat Chronic Viral Infection and Cancer

(1)Stressgen Biotechnologies, Inc., Collegeville, PA. USA

We have developed an immunization platform which combines heat shock proteins with protein antigens, such as viral or cancer targets, into a single recombinant fusion protein. Pre-clinical data demonstrate the ability of Hsp fusion proteins to induce antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, Type 1 cytokines and anti-tumor immunity. One Hsp fusion protein, HspE7, is now in clinical development for therapy of diseases caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV infection is associated with development of proliferative lesions (papillomas or warts) as well as malignant lesions (anogenital dysplasia and cancer). To date, HspE7 has been shown in efficacy trials to be active against genital warts and anal dysplasia, and a trial is underway in another HPV indication, recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Having demonstrated therapeutic activity for our lead product HspE7 in humans, we are currently developing Hsp fusion proteins as therapeutic vaccines for other chronic viral infections. Potential targets include hepatitis B, herpes simplex, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus.