Burnet Institute and ARTES partner on hep C vaccine

The Burnet Institute has joined forces with Germany’s ARTES Biotechnology to develop a novel, effective vaccine to prevent transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV), as well as reinfection in people treated through antiviral therapies. The partnership will combine Burnet’s HepSeeVaxDelta3 technology with ARTES’s METAVAX technology for the development of chimeric virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccines.

The project aims to develop a VLP-based vaccine that efficiently presents HCV antigens to prevent hepatitis C infection. The VLPs will present the novel, modified envelope protein (E2) on its surface, thereby targeting the vaccine to dendritic cells to prime and prepare the immune system to fight against hepatitis C infection.

HepSeeVaxDelta3 technology is developed by re-engineering E2 to produce the novel HepSeeVaxDelta3 vaccine, which can generate high levels of antibodies that can block replication of all seven genotypes of HCV in laboratory tests. Associate Professor Heidi Drummer, who led the development of the technology, said it overcomes a critical limitation to HCV vaccine development.

“The virus that causes HCV has evolved to avoid the immune system so that in natural infection, key immune responses are delayed or distracted by irrelevant targets on the virus,” she said. “The same is true for conventional vaccine platforms tested previously. The HepSeeVaxDelta3 component of the vaccine redirects the immune response to make antibodies on the most important targets that prevent infection against the seven circulating HCV genotypes.”

ARTES vaccine development platform METAVAX, in combination with the expression host Hansenula polymorpha (recommended by the WHO for hepatitis B vaccine production), is the preferred tool for the development of affordable vaccines. The development platform is said to be a unique and economical approach to low-cost mass production of safe and effective vaccines.

“There is a strong demand for a safe and low-cost vaccine to prevent hepatitis C infection,” said ARTES Managing Director Dr Michael Piontek. “This is in line with the aim of the WHO to realise their hepatitis C elimination targets. After out-licensing processes for hepatitis B vaccine production worldwide, ARTES is proud to take the next step together with Burnet Institute in fighting another life-threatening hepatitis infection.”