Progress on Alzheimer's Vaccine - Campus Vienna Biocenter

An innovative vaccination can significantly reduce deposits of the
substances in the brain responsible for causing Alzheimer's disease. This
result was disclosed today by Affiris GmbH, a company located at the Campus
Vienna Biocenter, Austria. The rapid progress during the pre-clinical
development phase has already enabled the Vienna-based company, although
having operated only since April 2004, to plan clinical trials for 2006, and
thus proves the international competitiveness of the Campus Vienna
Biocenter.


Beta-amyloids are pathological fragments of a normal brain protein. They are
responsible for the development of Alzheimer's disease, as they cause the
death of brain cells. Amyloid fragments are found in large amounts in the
cerebral fluid of Alzheimer patients. Deposits are formed in the brain over
the years, thus creating the plaque structures typical of Alzheimer's
disease. It has not yet been completely clarified whether plaque formation
or the soluble beta-amyloids are the causative agents for Alzheimer's
disease.


Tailor-made Vaccine


The Vienna-based company Affiris is now reporting that it has succeeded in
significantly reducing Alzheimer plaques by at least two-thirds in
pre-clinical models by means of an innovative vaccine. CEO Dr. Walter
Schmidt explains the important feature of the vaccination strategy:
"Alzheimer's is caused by a fragment of one of the ubiquitous proteins of
cerebral cells. If one wants to combat Alzheimer immunologically it is
essential to generate antibodies which are targeted against the
beta-amyloids, but which leave the normal constituent of the cerebral cells
unharmed, since the latter would induce an autoimmune disease. In keeping
with this, Affiris? vaccine approach has been shown to be highly specific
for beta amyloids and not to react with the normal constituent of cerebral
cells."


Thus, the Affiris approach not only avoids an autoimmune disease, but also
offers the advantage of targeting simultaneously both the plaques and the
soluble beta-amyloid fraction. Therefore, whether the soluble or plaque
forms - or both - are responsible for causing the disease is not ultimately
crucial for the vaccine's success. The additional proof that the vaccine
induces antibodies, which are active against plaques in human tissue
samples, and the first data collected on the toxicology profile have further
contributed to built a secure basis for Affiris to schedule the first trials
on patients for 2006.


Biotech with Economics


Beside its scientific success Affiris also boasts important economic
advantages: low costs and short manufacturing times for its vaccine. In the
words of Dr. Schmidt: "Our substances are produced at low costs and a
building-block system is used to form the vaccine. The effective component
is synthetically manufactured and combined with a carrier substance isolated
from natural resources. Both together form the actual vaccine and a standard
adjuvant is added to strengthen the immune response."















The fact that the management has taken these important economic aspects into
consideration from the very beginning is also due to the comprehensive
biotech experiences at the Campus Vienna Biocenter. After all, numerous
biotech companies and research institutes are situated at the Campus Vienna
Biocenter, in addition to the FH Campus Wien (biotechnology), the Life
Science Departments of the University of Vienna and the Medical University
of Vienna, all sharing both resources and experiences and thus contributing
to the international success of this location.


About AFFiRiS (September 2005):


AFFiRiS develops peptide-based vaccines for the treatment of Alzheimer's
disease and atherosclerosis. The company has established platform
technologies and registered seven patents. 12 employees work in a 6,500 sqf
rented laboratory facility on the Campus Vienna Biocenter (affiris).


About the Campus Vienna Biocenter (September 2005):


The Campus Vienna Biocenter is one of the largest R&D clusters in Austria
with approx. 1,000 scientists from 40 nations at 16 organisations. Academic
departments (University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, subsumed in
the Max F. Perutz Laboratories), private research institutes (IMP -
Institute of Molecular Pathology) and institutes of the Austrian Academy of
Sciences (IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, GMI - Gregor Mendel
Institute) are also located here along with commercial R&D companies,
service companies and training course centres (viennabiocenter).


Image and text will be available online from Thursday, 15th September 2005,
09.00 a.m. MEZ onwards: affiris/news.htm


Contact Affiris GmbH:

Dr. Walter Schmidt

Campus Vienna Biocenter 2

A-1030 Vienna, Austria

Tel: +43 / 676 / 52 99 731

E-mail: walter.schmidtaffiris


Copy Editing & Mailing:

PR&D - Public Relations for Research & Development

Campus Vienna Biocenter 2

A-1030 Vienna, Austria

Tel: +43 / 1 / 505 70 44

E-mail: contactprd.at


Supported by Innovatives ?sterreich, Campus Vienna Biocenter Association and
the agency PR&D


affiris