VLPExpress: a novel, high-throughput technology to accelerate the discovery and development of new vaccine.antigens based on Virus-Like Particles (VLPs)
Overview
Development of VLPExpress, a novel high-throughput platform for the discovery of new Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) vaccine antigen.
The ultimate goal is to perform a typical project from target screening to VLP delivery for efficacy testing in about 10 weeks and for less than $100,000.
Medicago is one of the first recipients of the CQDM funding program. In less than two years, Dr. Vézina and his team developed the VLPExpress, a high-throughput platform, from their proprietary plant-based transient expression system. The platform is designed to quickly identify the best VLP-based antigen presentations out of hundreds of candidates for a disease-causing agent. The best targets can then be characterized, produced and purified. An important part of the platform was the development of a generic purification process to accelerate the target evaluation. The validity and utility of this platform was demonstrated using viruses of the Orthomyxoviridae family. The project is expected to end in November 2011 with additional proof of concept on targets from other viral families. The approach used for the VLPExpress platform will open up new avenues for the development of more challenging vaccines, notably for microbial and parasitic antigens or cancer. The public-private consortium gathered by the CQDMand its associated mentorship program has benefited Medicago in multiple ways. “The development of the VLPExpress platform impacted our day-to-day activities. We are now more efficient at performing different steps of our technologies because of the capacity and speed brought by this high-throughput discovery platform” affirms Louis-Philippe Vézina, Chief Scientific Officer at Medicago.
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Infectious influenza virus with surface antigens, lipid membrane, internal proteins and genetic material |
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Medicago's VLP is a non-infectious and a more efficient way of presenting antigens to the immune system |
Impact on the drug discovery process
- To shorten the transition time from R&D to clinical trials by target prioritization. The high-throughput platform will make it possible to discover the best VLP antigen within 10 weeks for less than $100,000
- The platform can be applicable to all enveloped
and non-enveloped viruses - The platform can also be used to screen other protein-based pharmaceuticals, such as antibodies and biosimilars
- The combination of molecular engineering and capacity of the VLPExpress platform can ultimately push the boundaries of complex vaccine design for microbial or parasitic diseases, as well as for cancer
Key facts
- Each year, vaccines prevent up to 3 million deaths and save 750,000 children from disabilities.
- It takes up to 6 months to produce a vaccine for a new strain of influenza.
- The global vaccine market is growing annually by 16% and is expected to surpass $23.8 billion by 2012.
Fore more information
