Company
Vaccines are one of the best ways to prevent the world’s most common and dangerous infectious diseases. Because vaccines are not yet available for many significant infectious diseases and many bacterial pathogens are becoming resistant to antibiotics, there is a critical need for a new generation of efficient and safe vaccines.
Smart Vaccines – a new generation of vaccines
Intercell has specialized in the development of “smart vaccines”, which include only the essential ingredients and which stimulate both important elements of the human immune system: T-cells and B-cells.
Intercell’s first product on the market is a Japanese Encephalitis vaccine. The product is approved in the U.S. (FDA), Europe (European Commission), Canada (Health Canada), Hongkong, Australia (TGA) and India (DCGI).
Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne infection which strikes 30,000 to 50,000 humans each year, causing about 15,000 deaths. The disease is most common in several developing countries in Asia and has expanded into new areas. Most affected are residents in rural areas, particularly children. In addition, the virus is a consistent threat to millions of international travelers and military personnel who visit these nations.
- Film: Production of our Japanese Encephalitis vaccine (5:14 Minutes)
Intercell’s vaccine against the Pseudomonas bacterium is developed in-house and has shown promising results in multiple clinical studies.
Pseudomonas is the third-most-frequent cause of hospital-acquired infections. It causes disease in individuals with a suppressed immune system, including those suffering from severe burns, cancer or HIV. Pneumonia and infections of heart, central nerves, respiratory, skin and soft tissue are common. The bacterium is often resistant to antibiotics, which complicates the treatment.
In December 2010 Intercell started a Phase I clinical trial for the vaccine candidate to prevent Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections. After successful pre-clinical trials, Intercell is progressing its vaccine candidate to prevent infections with C. difficile into the clinical development stage.
C. difficile is the leading cause of nosocomial Diarrhea in Europe and the U.S. and is a significant threat in particular to the elderly population.
Intercell's vaccine candidate is a recombinant protein vaccine consisting of two truncated toxins A and B from Clostridium difficile. The toxins are known to be disease-causing and anti-toxin immunity can be protective. The vaccine candidate will be tested with or without the adjuvant aluminum hydroxide.
Intercell is developing a Pandemic Influenza patch that is designed to enhance the immune response to existing injected Pandemic Influenza vaccines. If successful, the patch will expand the limited vaccine supplies by allowing lower doses of vaccine to be used.
The Vaccine Enhancement Patch (VEP) has generated positive data in ongoing clinical trials, demonstrating that – when used with an injected Pandemic Influenza vaccine – a single dose can confer protection. For the development and commercialization Intercell has an strategic alliance with GSK.
Pandemic Influenza is a global outbreak of Influenza that occurs when particularly virulent and easy-to-spread influenza strains emerge. During the 20th century, several major pandemics occurred, including the 1919 Spanish Influenza that killed as many as 40 million. The threat of a new global pandemic Influenza, such as the outbreak of the Asian, or bird, Influenza, accentuates the need for efficient vaccines that can be quickly administered.
Intercell is developing a treatment for Hepatitis C that stimulates the immune system to mount an attack on the viral infection. The approach, known as therapeutic vaccination, has shown promising results in Phase II clinical studies.
Hepatitis C is spread by direct contact with human blood. The disease can lead to chronic liver diseases, including cirrhosis (damages of normal liver tissue) and liver cancer. Worldwide, approximately 170 millions of people are chronic carriers of Hepatitis C, and 3 to 4 million are newly infected each year, according the World Health Organization. Currently, there is no vaccine and long-term treatment with marketed therapeutics is inefficient, costly and has substantial side effects.
Intercell’s novel vaccine against Tuberculosis is being developed in co-development with Denmark’s Statens Serums Institut and sanofi-aventis. Early data has been promising, and additional studies are on track.
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria spread through the air and is one of the world’s most severe health problems. One-third of the world’s population is infected and the disease causes symptoms in about 5 to 10 percent of cases. A total of 1.5 million people die each year cause to the disease. In addition, Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among people infected with HIV, since each disease speeds the progress of the other. Today’s licensed vaccine is given to newborns and provides excellent protection for 10 to 15 years, but a second boost does not provide sufficient protection, creating an unmet need for a vaccine in adolescents and adults.