Lincoln company has role in bird flu vaccine development
If a DNA vaccine against bird flu that’s being tested on humans proves effective, it could put a small Lincoln biotechnology company on the map in a big way.
Nature Technology Corp., which is headquartered in the University of Nebraska Technology Park, provided the manufacturing process for the vaccine, which was designed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health.
Unlike conventional flu vaccines, which are developed by growing the influenza virus in eggs and then administered to the patient as a weakened or killed form of the virus, DNA-based vaccines like this one contain only portions of the influenza virus’ genetic material. Once inside the body, the DNA instructs human cells to make proteins that act as a vaccine against the virus.
“The benefit of using a DNA vaccine is that you don’t have to expose a person directly to pathogens,” said Dr. Clague P. Hodgson, CEO of Nature Technology.
That could be important in treating bird flu. The H5N1 strain of the disease has killed more than half the people it’s infected. So far most of those people caught the disease from animals. But many scientists and world leaders fear the disease could mutate and cause a worldwide flu pandemic in which millions of people could die.
That potential has provided a big incentive to accelerate developing a human vaccine.
“An effective H5N1 influenza vaccine would provide a potentially life-saving advance against a global health threat,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a branch of the NIH. “More broadly, development of this DNA vaccine technology has the potential to improve our production capacity for vaccines to prevent seasonal influenza and other diseases.”
Hodgson said that’s part of the beauty of his company’s process.
“The nice thing about it is it’s a technology rather than a product, so it has a lot of different applications,” he said.
The manufacturing process works like this:
A gene is inserted into a circle of DNA — called a plasmid — which is then inserted into a form of E. coli bacteria.
The bacteria are then grown in a fermentor, and the results are large amounts of the desired DNA.
The NIH is already using Nature Technology’s process for vaccines against HIV and ebola, Hodgson said.
The company also is working on its own bird flu vaccine for animals, but Hodgson said it is a long way from the clinical testing phase.
The human bird flu trial, which is being conducted at the NIH’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., began last month. It will eventually enroll 45 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 60. Fifteen will receive placebo injections and 30 will receive three injections of the investigational DNA vaccine over two months and will be followed for one year.
None of the participants will be exposed to the bird flu virus, but Hodgson said researchers can get a good read on how well the vaccine is working by measuring antibodies of those receiving it.
If the vaccine proves effective against the H5N1 strain of bird flu, it could mean a financial windfall for Nature Technology.
In that case, Hodgson said, the vaccine likely would be purchased by a large pharmaceutical company for mass production, and that company might also be interested in licensing Nature Technology’s manufacturing process.
After five years of work, the company’s process is producing enough DNA vaccine at a low enough cost to be commercially viable, he said.
It is going through the patent process, and Hodgson said he’s hoping for “good worldwide patent coverage.”
Even if the vaccine doesn’t pan out, Hodgson said the exposure and recognition from being involved with the project will be important to the company.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “We’re very happy that they decided to use our process.”
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
Nature Technology Corp., which is headquartered in the University of Nebraska Technology Park, provided the manufacturing process for the vaccine, which was designed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health.
Unlike conventional flu vaccines, which are developed by growing the influenza virus in eggs and then administered to the patient as a weakened or killed form of the virus, DNA-based vaccines like this one contain only portions of the influenza virus’ genetic material. Once inside the body, the DNA instructs human cells to make proteins that act as a vaccine against the virus.
“The benefit of using a DNA vaccine is that you don’t have to expose a person directly to pathogens,” said Dr. Clague P. Hodgson, CEO of Nature Technology.
That could be important in treating bird flu. The H5N1 strain of the disease has killed more than half the people it’s infected. So far most of those people caught the disease from animals. But many scientists and world leaders fear the disease could mutate and cause a worldwide flu pandemic in which millions of people could die.
That potential has provided a big incentive to accelerate developing a human vaccine.
“An effective H5N1 influenza vaccine would provide a potentially life-saving advance against a global health threat,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a branch of the NIH. “More broadly, development of this DNA vaccine technology has the potential to improve our production capacity for vaccines to prevent seasonal influenza and other diseases.”
Hodgson said that’s part of the beauty of his company’s process.
“The nice thing about it is it’s a technology rather than a product, so it has a lot of different applications,” he said.
The manufacturing process works like this:
A gene is inserted into a circle of DNA — called a plasmid — which is then inserted into a form of E. coli bacteria.
The bacteria are then grown in a fermentor, and the results are large amounts of the desired DNA.
The NIH is already using Nature Technology’s process for vaccines against HIV and ebola, Hodgson said.
The company also is working on its own bird flu vaccine for animals, but Hodgson said it is a long way from the clinical testing phase.
The human bird flu trial, which is being conducted at the NIH’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., began last month. It will eventually enroll 45 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 60. Fifteen will receive placebo injections and 30 will receive three injections of the investigational DNA vaccine over two months and will be followed for one year.
None of the participants will be exposed to the bird flu virus, but Hodgson said researchers can get a good read on how well the vaccine is working by measuring antibodies of those receiving it.
If the vaccine proves effective against the H5N1 strain of bird flu, it could mean a financial windfall for Nature Technology.
In that case, Hodgson said, the vaccine likely would be purchased by a large pharmaceutical company for mass production, and that company might also be interested in licensing Nature Technology’s manufacturing process.
After five years of work, the company’s process is producing enough DNA vaccine at a low enough cost to be commercially viable, he said.
It is going through the patent process, and Hodgson said he’s hoping for “good worldwide patent coverage.”
Even if the vaccine doesn’t pan out, Hodgson said the exposure and recognition from being involved with the project will be important to the company.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “We’re very happy that they decided to use our process.”
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.