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news.AEterna Zentaris is expanding its development of tumor vaccines by collaborating with Julius-Maximilians University in Germany. The joint venture yields valuable resources for AEterna, which will acquire patent rights from the university covering several aspects of bacterial tumor targeting and immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer.
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The first expected targets for this research project would be the development of vaccines against prostate cancer and melanoma.
This vaccine approach exploits the ability of bacteria to induce potent immune responses and to direct this response against malignancies. The immunogenicity of the vaccine is further enhanced by the capacity of bacteria to colonize tumor tissues. This property will be used to transport substances such as proteins, which are capable of converting non- toxic pro drugs into active drugs, into the tumor tissue.
The use of bacterial carriers for therapeutic vaccination against tumors and the concept of bacterial tumor targeting will be further developed with the Julius-Maximilians-University. AEterna Zentaris believes this collaboration will provide the company with a unique strength in the area of bacterial tumor therapy as well as increasing their oncology research to cover cancer vaccinations.
Gilles Gagnon, president and CEO at AEterna Zentaris stated: “It is our strategic goal to secure a constant flow of innovative projects in this core area of competence for our Company.”