Adelaide, Australia, 21st September 2022 – GPN Vaccines is pleased to announce publication of a landmark scientific paper in the prestigious journal mBio showing its novel pneumococcal vaccine, Gamma-PN, elicits a broad-spectrum, serotype-independent opsonophagocytic antibody response.
This research, conducted in collaboration with the University of Adelaide, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and University College London, demonstrated that rabbits immunised with Gamma-PN elicited an opsonophagocytic antibody response that facilitated killing of Streptococcus pneumoniae, regardless of serotype. The opsonophagocytic antibody response is considered a surrogate of vaccine efficacy and has been accepted by the FDA and other regulatory agencies as a basis for accelerated approval of new pneumococcal vaccines.
GPN Vaccines’ Chief Scientific Officer and Director of the University of Adelaide’s Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, Professor James Paton, said “This is the first report of a broad-spectrum opsonophagocytic antibody response elicited to non-capsular antigens that can kill Streptococcus pneumoniae expressing different capsular serotypes. I consider this an important breakthrough, as it has not previously been achieved for vaccines that contain non-capsular antigens, and it bodes very well for our upcoming clinical trial”, he said.
Dr Mohammed Alsharifi, GPN Vaccines’ Director of Immunology and from the University of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences, commented “By inactivating our vaccine with gamma irradiation, we have created a product that elicits a robust immune response comprising functional opsonophagocytic antibodies, without the need to add a chemical adjuvant. This was an unexpected finding that is likely to have broader implications for the manufacture of other vaccines as well”.
The publication can be downloaded here.
About GPN Vaccines
GPN Vaccines is a public (unlisted) biotechnology company developing a vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is responsible for causing life-threatening pneumonia, bacteraemia and meningitis, as well as otitis media (middle ear infections). Each year it causes 1-2 million deaths worldwide, killing more children than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. There are now 100 different serotypes of S. pneumoniae and the best vaccine currently on the market only protects against 20 of them. Gamma-PN – GPN Vaccines’ new S. pneumoniae vaccine, is being developed to protect children and adults against all S. pneumoniae strains, regardless of strain serotype.
