Canadian Researchers Testing Unique Vaccines for Prion Diseases and Common Cancers
PrioNet Canada teams up scientists with industry
partners to conduct cutting-edge research
July 26, 2010 (Vancouver, BC) – Several Canadian researchers have come together to help control the relentless spread of a prion disease, chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk, through vaccines. At the same time they aim to generate safe and effective therapies for common cancers. This simultaneous research is possible thanks to a unique connection they have discovered between the two unrelated diseases.
The project builds on links between prion proteins present in certain prion diseases like CWD in animals and common cancers in people like melanoma and lymphoma. The multi-provincial research is made possible by Vancouver-based PrioNet Canada’s Bootstrap program and involves three scientists along with two industry partners, Toronto-based Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. and Saskatoon-based PREVENT – the Pan Provincial Vaccine Initiative.
CWD impacts hundreds of thousands of deer and elk across North America, and is present in wild and farmed populations in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Common cancers affect more than one in three people during their lifetimes.
“This is the first time that the idea of treating cancer with antibodies against prion disease is being subjected to scientific testing,” said Dr. Neil Cashman, Scientific Director of PrioNet Canada, a national Network of Centres of Excellence. The new therapies are currently being tested on mice, with clinical trials expected to begin within four to five years.
The project was sparked when a research team led by Dr. Cashman, a neurologist at Vancouver Coastal Health and Canada Research Chair in Neurodegeneration and Protein Misfolding Diseases at the University of British Columbia, discovered that certain regions of the prion protein, which are usually buried in the protein’s interior, expose themselves when the protein becomes misfolded when prion disease develops. These regions, called epitopes, are then exposed for antibody binding which make them ideal targets for developing vaccines.
Later, Dr. Cashman’s team discovered that prion proteins not only misfold in prion disease, but also on the surface of certain cancer cells, making the misfolded protein a promising focus for treating common types of cancer. This discovery is a significant move forward for the prion field, demonstrating that the prion protein plays a greater role in other diseases.
“If you can target a cancer cell with a specific antibody, then you have a chance of killing the cancer and sparing the normal cells,” said Dr. Cashman, the project’s principal investigator who is collaborating with cancer experts Dr. Dawn Waterhouse from the BC Cancer Agency and Dr. Yuzhuo Wang of the BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Prostate Centre at Vancouver Coastal Health.
Launched in partnership with Amorfix – a therapeutic products company of which Dr. Cashman is the scientific founder, Chief Scientific Officer and a Board member – the project is funded under PrioNet Canada’s unique Bootstrap program, which brings together Canadian researchers with industry partners to apply prion research to some of the country’s greatest medical challenges.
“PrioNet’s Bootstrap is a value-added initiative that facilitates our collaboration with the university,” said Dr. Robert Gundel, CEO of Amorfix. “Amorfix is very pleased to partner with PrioNet and PREVENT on this groundbreaking research that will enable the development of novel, safe and effective vaccines and immunotherapies for the treatment of CWD and cancer.”
Dr. Andy Potter, PREVENT Co-Founder, agrees. “Any time one can potentially increase the efficacy of a vaccine or broaden the potential value of a vaccine is very clearly a huge advantage,” he said, adding that linking research and commercialization components between a Network of Centres of Excellence like PrioNet Canada and a Centre for Excellence in Commercialization and Research like PREVENT, is unique in Canada and that will translate into accelerated results.
This project, for starters, is a promising example. “Using CWD as a first platform gives us the potential to extend this approach out into other human diseases, such as cancer, which is very significant,” said Dr. Potter.
About PrioNet Canada (www.prionetcanada.ca)
PrioNet Canada is a national network that capitalizes on fundamental, applied, and social research to develop strategies to help solve the food, health safety, and socioeconomic problems associated with prion diseases. PrioNet brings together academia, industry, and public sector partners through its multidisciplinary research projects, training programs, events, and knowledge translation activities. PrioNet, one of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence, is hosted by the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.
About Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. (www.amorfix.com)
Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. Develops therapeutic products and diagnostic devices targeting misfolded protein diseases including ALS, cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). Amorfix is a pioneer in the ability to identify unique regions that are buried in normal proteins, and exposed to antibodies when proteins are aberrantly folded. These unique regions are designated Disease Specific Epitopes™ (DSE), which can be exploited by Amorfix to develop highly specific diagnostic tools, as well as targets for therapeutics of protein misfolding diseases.
About PREVENT (www.prevent-cecr.ca)
PREVENT received funding from the Networks of Centre of Excellence – Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research. An incorporated not-for-profit organization, PREVENT is accelerating the development of promising early-stage vaccine candidates to address existing or potential human health issues. By partnering with Canadian experts and shouldering the risk of early-stage vaccine development, PREVENT strengthens and advances Canada’s vaccine industry, promoting growth, investment and improved global competitiveness.
Contact information for interviews:
Gail Bergman
Gail Bergman PR
Tel: (905) 886-1340
E-mail: gbergman@gailbergmanpr.com Last Updated: 7/26/2010 11:59:06 AM
|