TIDMFIPP
Frontier IP Group plc
29 November 2021
Reach - a non-regulatory announcement
AIM: FIPP
29 November 2021
Frontier IP Group Plc
("Frontier IP" or the "Group")
Portfolio news - The Vaccine Group announces significant
milestone in development of next generation COVID-19 vaccine
Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual
property, notes the following announcement that portfolio company
The Vaccine Group ("TVG" or the "Company") has achieved a
significant milestone in the development of its next generation
COVID-19 vaccine for use in humans. Frontier IP holds a 17 per cent
equity stake in the Company.
Neil Crabb, Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, said : "The
first generation of COVID-19 vaccines have had a fantastic impact.
However, COVID-19 is not going to disappear, so there is a need for
a new generation of vaccines. There is a growing body of evidence
to show that stimulating a T cell response confers longer-lasting
immunity than other approaches and also offers the potential to
provide protection against current and future variants of the
disease."
Jeremy Salt, Chief Executive of The Vaccine Group, said: "These
very strong trial results show that a COVID-19 vaccine based on our
novel herpesvirus platform could prove to be extremely effective in
mitigating the long-term impact of the disease. We are clearly
excited about the potential for the vaccine."
Simon Graham, Group Leader at The Pirbright Institute, said:
"Given the emerging data that strongly suggest an important role
for cellular immunity in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection, these
are particularly promising results."
The Vaccine Group statement begins:
The Vaccine Group announces significant milestone in development
of next generation
COVID-19 vaccine
-- Trial data show strong T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2, as
well as the more divergent SARS-CoV-1, demonstrating potential for
broad immunity against current and future variants of the causal
agent of COVID-19
-- Vaccination is not blunted by pre-existing immunity against
the vaccine platform allowing for repeated use as a 'booster' after
initial vaccination
The Vaccine Group ("TVG" or the "Company") today announces the
results of pre-clinical trials in pigs for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine
candidate for use in humans based on its novel herpesvirus-based
vaccine platform technology.
The results show that a strong T cell response is stimulated by
a single immunisation, which is further boosted by a subsequent
immunisation with the identical vaccine after a four-week interval.
The trials were run in collaboration with The Pirbright Institute,
England.
Laboratory analysis of immune responses to the vaccine confirmed
T cell responses in all animals. Further analysis showed both
SARS-CoV-2-specific gamma interferon producing CD4 (+) helper T
cells and CD8 (+) cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) against SARS-CoV-2 were
induced.
The vaccine has been developed to direct T cell immune responses
against three SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The potential for such a T
cell-focused vaccine approach has been highlighted following recent
reports of substantial T cell-based immune memory in SARS-CoV-2
convalescent patients* and a correlation of immunological control
with the prevalence of CTLs**.
CTLs are an important part of the body's defence system because
they destroy cells infected by the virus. This means they remove
infected cells swiftly, before the virus can replicate. Most
vaccines either on the market or under development are aimed at
attacking the virus directly once it has already replicated and
been released from the infected cell by stimulating an antibody
response against the spike protein on the surface of the virus.
However, antibodies are more sensitive to evasion by virus
mutation.
In vitro stimulation of lymphocytes isolated from peripheral
blood samples after vaccination showed reactivity against peptides
from both SARS-CoV-2, the causal agent of the COVID-19 pandemic,
and also the SARS-CoV-1 virus isolated from the 2003 SARS
outbreak.
These data underline the ability of this vaccine to stimulate
broad coronavirus immune responses which would be expected to be
beneficial in controlling infection with current circulating
SARS-CoV-2 viruses (e.g., Delta) as well as future variants of the
virus.
Pathogen targets of T cell-based immunity are known to vary less
than antibody targets, therefore this result is in line with this
vaccine strategy.
Following early discussions with the UK's MHRA, TVG is seeking
immediate funding to move the vaccine candidate to a full
Proof-of-Concept stage before Phase I trials in humans can be
undertaken.
The vaccine candidate is based upon TVG's herpesvirus vector
system, which allows for repeated reimmunization and booster doses
to be used without decreasing efficacy.
Jeremy Salt, Chief Executive of The Vaccine Group, said: "These
very strong trial results show that a COVID-19 vaccine based on our
novel herpesvirus platform could prove to be extremely effective in
mitigating the long-term impact of the disease. We are clearly
excited about the potential for the vaccine."
Simon Graham, Group Leader at The Pirbright Institute, said:
"Given the emerging data that strongly suggest an important role
for cellular immunity in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection, these
are particularly promising results."
* Le Bert,et al 2020
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2550-z;
* Grifoni et al, 2020
https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2820%2930610-3
** Swadling, L., Diniz, M.O., Schmidt, N.M. et al. Pre-existing
polymerase-specific T cells expand in abortive seronegative
SARS-CoV-2. Nature (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04186-8
** L uo et al. 2020.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32544099/
The Vaccine Group statement ends
ENQUIRIES
Frontier IP Group Plc T: 020 7332 2338
Neil Crabb, Chief Executive Officer neil@frontierip.co.uk
Andrew Johnson, Communications and investor M: 07464 546 025
relations
andrew.johnson@frontierip.co.uk
Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk
The Vaccine Group
Jeremy Salt, Chief Executive Officer jeremy.salt@thevaccinegroup.com
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) T: 0203 328 5656
Nick Athanas / George Payne
About T cells and SARS-CoV-2
The structural proteins spike (S), membrane protein (M) and
nucleocapsid (N) are core building blocks of coronaviruses,
including SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2.
-- Spike (S) protein, is on the surface of the virus and is
responsible for the distinctive crown-like structure. S protein is
required for infection of a cell by binding to the ACE2 receptor on
the cell surface.
-- Membrane (M) protein, which spans the membrane of the virus,
plays a major role in assembly of the virus particle.
-- Nucleocapsid (N) protein, is found inside the virus and has
many functions from helping copy and package the genetic
information of the virus through to also being involved in virion
assembly.
The body's active defence when attacked by a pathogen, such as
the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is governed by two types of adaptive immune
response (cell-mediated and antibody-mediated) through two white
blood cell lineages: the mononuclear/macrophages and lymphocytes
(both B and T cells).
Lymphocytes circulate in the body until they are activated by
contact with a specific piece of protein of a pathogen, which is
called an antigen. They bind the antigen (in this case from
SARS-CoV-2) presented by mononuclear/monocytes acting as antigen
presenting cells via their surface proteins. In the case of B cells
this is antibody.
The antigen presenting cell internalises the virus and then
expresses short peptide sequences of the viral proteins through a
molecule called MHC Class II. A helper CD4+ T cell then binds on to
the MHC Class II molecule, which triggers the transformation of the
B cell into plasma cells and memory B cells.
Plasma cells mass manufacture antibodies to the virus, which
then circulate in the blood and tissues. However, these antibodies
are tailor made to combat very specific regions present in the
original infecting virus. In the case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, this
is most usually against targets on the Spike protein. This means
the antibodies might not be effective against a coronavirus with a
mutated spike protein. And because Spike proteins are the main
contact point between a coronavirus and cells in the body,
mutations in this region can have a significant impact on
efficiency of cellular entry.
Memory B cells are a reserve: they remember the virus and so can
respond quickly if the body is reinfected.
Most Covid-19 vaccines either on the market currently or under
development aim to stimulate a B cell-derived serum antibody
response to SARS-CoV-2 virus through inclusion of only the Spike
proteins itself or its gene.
CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) attack infected cells directly,
rather than the free virus. When a cell is infected, the virus
starts to replicate by producing its proteins including
nucleocapsid (N), membrane (M) and spike proteins (S). The infected
cells express peptides, short sequences of the proteins, on their
surface via a molecule called MHC Class I.
The CTL recognises infected cells because of the presence of the
MHC Class I molecule presenting viral peptides. It binds on to the
infected cell and kills it before the virus can be released.
Importantly, for SARS-CoV-2, T cells target all of the three
proteins N, M and S. The generation of the immediate effector T
cells are accompanied by the production of long-lived memory T
cells.
The T cell targets on nucleocapsid and membrane proteins mutate
much more slowly than the Spike protein antibody targets, and they
are more similar between SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 viruses.
This gives rise to the expectation that a vaccine stimulating a
T cell response to both viruses will be in a strong position to
combat any variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
ABOUT THE VACCINE GROUP
The Vaccine Group, a spin out from the University of Plymouth,
is developing vaccines based on benign forms of herpesviruses.
These are a group of viruses found in all animals, including
humans.
The Company is targeting two main areas: zoonotic diseases,
which jump from animals to humans, and economically damaging
diseases in livestock. The COVID-19 vaccine is the first of the
company's vaccines being developed for humans.
The Company and its international partners have so far been
backed by more than GBP9 million in grant funding from the US, UK
and Chinese governments. The US government is funding development
of Ebola and Lassa fever virus vaccines. The company has also
signed its first commercial agreement to develop vaccines for
Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Virus Syndrome with ECO Animal
Health Group plc.
Other projects underway include developing a vaccine against
Streptococcus suis, a disease in pigs which can be fatal in humans
and can only currently be treated with large doses of
antibiotics.
For more information: www.thevaccinegroup.com
ABOUT THE PIRBRIGHT INSTITUTE
The Pirbright Institute is a world leading centre of excellence
in research and surveillance of virus diseases of farm animals and
viruses that spread from animals to humans. Based in the UK and
receiving strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological
Sciences Research Council ( BBSRC ) part of UK Research and
Innovation (UKRI), the Institute works to enhance capability to
contain, control and eliminate these economically and medically
important diseases through highly innovative fundamental and
applied bioscience.
The Institute is an independent company, limited by guarantee
and a registered charity, governed by a Board of non-executive
Trustee Directors.
With an annual income of GBP37 million from grants and
commercial activity, and a total of GBP43.7 million strategic
investment from BBSRC UKRI during 2021-2022, the Institute
contributes to global food security and health, improving quality
of life for animals and people.
For more information about The Pirbright Institute see:
www.pirbright.ac.uk
ABOUT FRONTIER IP
Frontier IP unites science and commerce by identifying strong
intellectual property and accelerating its development through a
range of commercialisation services. A critical part of the Group's
work is involving relevant industry partners at an early stage of
development to ensure technology meets real world demands and
needs.
The Group looks to build and grow a portfolio of equity stakes
and licence income by taking an active involvement in spin-out
companies, including support for fund raising and collaboration
with relevant industry partners at an early stage of
development.
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