8/22/2007 Mass. firm taps UR expert to develop vaccine
By JANICE B. PIETERSE
Rochester Business Journal
August 22, 2007
A biotechnology company in Massachusetts Wednesday said it had entered an agreement with a leading expert in avian flu vaccine development at the University of Rochester.
Generex Biotechnology Corp. of Worcester said its wholly owned subsidiary, Antigen Express Inc., would work with John Treanor M.D. to develop a novel vaccine against the potentially pandemic bird flu.
The agreement pairs Treanor’s expertise in the clinical development of flu vaccines with peptide vaccine technology pioneered by Antigen Express, the company said.
Treanor, professor of medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, has gained international recognition for his research into novel vaccines and antivirals.
Treanor said URMC has agreed to provide blood cells of people vaccinated against avian flu to help test which peptides may be effective in Antigen Express’ process.
“If it did work, it could potentially be very useful,” Treanor said. URMC will hold no intellectual property rights but is being reimbursed by Antigen for its work on the project, he said.
Antigen Express is developing peptides designed to stimulate helper cells that can be made by an entirely synthetic process that reduces cost and increases the speed and quantity of production, compared with traditional egg-based or cell culture-based vaccines, the company said.
“We are very pleased to be working with Dr. John Treanor and are looking forward to a productive relationship,” said Eric von Hofe, president of Antigen Express, in a statement. “He is an outstanding immunologist with extensive experience in the clinical development of avian influenza vaccines.”
Shayne Gilliatt of Generex Biotechnology Corporation, 1-800-391-6755, or
+1-416-364-2551; or Ken Sgro of CEOcast, Inc., 212-732-4300,
kensgro@ceocast.com, for Generex Biotechnology Corporation
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