The study was conducted under a contract sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Tetragenetics scientists produced a recombinant nanoparticle vaccine against a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype, namely the H5N1 strain.
The study finds, at lethal doses of influenza, 90% in the treatment group that were immunized with the company’s vaccine survived the lethal challenge.
The vaccine candidate was comprised of the viral hemagglutinin linked to a protein from Tetrahymena thermophila that promotes assembly into homogenous nanoparticles in the 40-60nm size range (G-SOME particles).
Tetragenetics CSO and founder Ted Clark said the results demonstrate the use of Tetrahymena as a versatile expression system for the production of nanoscale particle-based vaccines against infectious disease agents.