European Partners to Develop Atherosclerosis Vaccine

A new attempt to develop a vaccine to prevent atherosclerosis will focus on suppressing the activity of CTEP (cholesteryl ester transfer protein), which is responsible for lowering the levels of "good” high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) levels in the blood.

Previous studies on vaccines against CTEP have failed due to the body's ability to suppress an immune response to its own proteins, or limit the effectiveness of any such response. The new attempt will circumvent this problem through the application of AFFiRiS, AG's (Vienna, Austria) already proven AFFITOME technology, which was used to place a vaccine against Alzheimer's disease into clinical trials.

In this effort, which is to be funded in part by the European Union's Eurotrans-Bio program, AFFiRiS will be cooperating with the Germany company EMC Microcollections, GmbH (Tübingen, Germany). The CETP Vaccine project is scheduled to last 30 months and is due to culminate in phase I clinical trials. Overall, the support provided to the project by the European Union is worth several hundred thousand EUR, while the two project partners are bearing around half of the total costs.

Dr. Frank Mattner, CSO of AFFiRiS AG explained, "Today's therapies with statins act on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDLc] and reduce its concentration in the blood. This type of treatment can reduce the likelihood of severe heart disease by as little as 30 % - and that is only if the patient takes the necessary medication correctly and regularly. In contrast, our vaccine approach aims at decreasing the cholesterol transfer from HDL to LDL, thus increasing the concentration of the beneficial HDL. This vaccine approach with its long-lasting effects should avoid patients having to take lifelong, daily medication to a strict regimen.”

Related Links:
AFFiRiS
EMC Microcollections