Austrian Firm Receives Award for Alzheimer's Vaccine

An award for developing an innovative vaccine designed to combat Alzheimer's disease has been presented to Affiris GmbH (Vienna, Austria).

The Kyu Pharmaceutical Award is presented each year by Dongsung Pharmaceuticals (South Korea). It recognizes developments that have made a significant contribution to the global advancement of the biopharmaceuticals industry. The award ceremony in South Korea was attended by visitors from around the world and included inquiries regarding first licensing agreements for marketing the vaccine developed by Affiris.

The vaccine being developed by Affiris overcomes the problem of an autoimmune reaction. The award was made in recognition of this fact. The winner is selected by an independent committee of specialists from the Korean company Dongsung.

In his speech at the award ceremony, Dongsung's president, Yang-Gu Lee emphasized the importance of innovative solutions for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. By skillfully selecting the peptides that are responsible for vaccine protection, Affiris has solved two problems that other companies working on an Alzheimer's vaccine have previously been unable to surmount. First, Affiris' approach does not induce the autoimmune reaction that is such a characteristic risk of Alzheimer's vaccines due to the fact that the disease is caused by the body's own proteins. Secondly, the vaccine tested by Affiris can be produced from low-cost starting materials, thus cutting production costs.

While attending the award ceremony in Seoul, Dr. Schmidt was invited to join talks with senior representatives from Dongsung. Dr. Schmidt commented, "I am particularly pleased for our investors, MIG-Fonds in Munich [Germany]. This prestigious award confirms that Affiris adopted the right concept for combating Alzheimer's, a concept which our investors supported from a very early stage. I am also pleased that this visit has led to very constructive talks about possible licensing agreements with Asian companies.”

Affiris develops peptide-based vaccines for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis. Occupying laboratory facilities at the Campus Vienna Biocenter, the company has established a number of platform technologies and registered seven patents.



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