Xbrane Bioscience files patent for novel vaccine platform
Stockholm, Sweden – 15th of October 2010
“The platform enables us to cover bacterial cells with thousands of proteins or small protein fragments (epitopes) from various sources. Epitopes trigger the immune response in the body. In that way, the platform can be used for development of live vaccines that are cheap to produce and possible to administer via e.g. nasal spray”, explains Dr. Joen Luirink at VU University. He continues “In another capacity, the platform enables secretion of proteins into the extracellular medium. This may simplify the purification of proteins which is a very resource intensive step in the protein production process.”
The platform has been developed in a collaboration between Xbrane Bioscience, VU University Amsterdam and Stockholm University. The combined complementary knowledge about proteins and how they cross cell membranes has been the key to the development of this breakthrough technology.
“We are very proud of this innovative technology and we think it has great potential. We have started to develop a first vaccine candidate. Now, we are also seeking partners to further explore different applications of the platforms” says Maria Alriksson, CEO of Xbrane Bioscience.
For more information, contact:
Xbrane Bioscience
Maria Alriksson
CEO
Phone: +46 70 4330449
E-mail: maria@xbrane.com
About Xbrane Bioscience
Xbrane Bioscience develops and commercializes versatile platforms for efficient and cost-effective production of proteins and for development of vaccines. The company was founded early 2008, as a spin-off company from the world-leading Center for Biomembrane Research at the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics of Stockholm University, Sweden. The company has developed the tunable expression system, Xbrane Lemo System™, is selling the Rhamex System™ and is now engineering platforms for E. coli that allow both high-yield protein expression on its cell surface and in the extracellular medium. For more information about Xbrane Bioscience visit www.xbrane.com.
About Vaccines
Vaccines against a pathogenic organism (virus, bacterium or parasite) often consist of a weakened (non-pathogenic) version of this organism. Also, killed pathogens or purified components from the pathogens are used for immunization. Good vaccines provide a life-long memory and protection against infection.
The market for vaccines was estimated to $21 billion in 2008 with an annual growth of 12-13%. Vaccines prevent at least 3 million deaths and save 750,000 children from disability annually worldwide. From an economical perspective, vaccines save millions of dollars in health related costs. For instance, the seven vaccines given to U.S. children save $53 billion in direct and societal costs over the lifetime of those born in a single year.