BioDiem progresses liver disease vaccine

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem (ASX: BDM) has announced its hepatitis vaccine program is progressing towards providing a new approach to treating liver disease.

Researchers at the University of Canberra have developed a system designed specifically to deliver therapies directly to the liver with the aim of reducing the dosages of therapies given to patients with liver disease, such as hepatitis and liver cancer.

This could improve quality of life for these patients by reducing side effects and may result in higher cure rates.

Recent work with the hepatitis D virus, which has been used as the basis for the technology, has successfully engineered the virus into a stable vector.

The hepatitis D virus is a small, enveloped RNA virus that requires the envelope proteins of a helper virus, hepatitis B virus, for further particle formation. It only infects liver cells and produces virus particles in cells that are also infected with hepatitis B.

Based on this natural tropism for the liver and the successful generation of replication-competent recombinants, this technologically has the potential to deliver biologically active therapies to the liver.

“This is an important breakthrough, which shows promise to support an array of new therapies targeting liver disease,” said BioDiem CEO Julie Phillips.

“We have filed international patents for this new vector technology and we envisage further development for specific treatments targeting viral hepatitis and liver cancer. This opens opportunities for vaccine manufacturers to design vaccines to target the liver selectively.”

Professor Ian Ramshaw from the University of Canberra said it was a significant development in the science supporting treatment of serious human disease affecting the liver.

Currently treatments are rarely curative and are often associated with side effects, which can lead to patients stopping treatment. A targeted approach opens the possibility of better results for patients.

Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer and the most common reason for liver transplantation. Liver cancer in men is the fifth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the world.

The global hepatitis market was estimated to be US$3.2 billion in 2009, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1% between 2001 and 2009. The market is anticipated to reach revenues of about US$5.9 billion by 2016, growing at a CAGR of 9% between 2009 and 2016. The main reason for its growth is the large chronic carrier hepatitis population, primarily hepatitis B and C.

BioDiem has a worldwide exclusive licence to the technology from the University of Canberra.

BioDiem (ASX:BDM) shares were trading slightly higher at $0.52 as of around midday on Tuesday.