CANVAC - Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics

www.canvac.ca

Current knowledge on cancer and viral vaccines has created new opportunities for preventative and therapeutic vaccines.

Active specific immunotherapy for cancer has not yet been successful despite substantial research efforts in the past decades. What has been established however, is that tumour cells or antigens can activate an immune response that leads to the tumours being rejected. Recently, novel approaches, based on engineering the cell surface and cytokine pattern of tumour and dendritic cells, modifications that stimulate both cell types to trigger a tumour-specific response from the immune system, have been developed. This has become a promising new avenue of research in the fight against cancer.

CANVAC focuses on immune-based prophylaxis and therapy for cancer, viral diseases and emerging viral infections such as HIV, hepatitis C and the SARS virus. These diseases were chosen because they are all chronic and/or life-threatening diseases for which there are currently unmet medical needs, and for which there is sound rationale for developing vaccines and/or immune-based therapies.

The program is organized around three themes – New targets for immune modulation; Immune monitoring; and Clinical integration and socio-behavioural research – and four targets – Towards HIV prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines; Development of HCV therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines; Development of therapeutic cancer vaccines; and SARS and emerging viruses.

CANVAC scientists have identified key immune factors associated with the early stages of SARS. Early detection of SARS-infected patients is currently based on the presence of flu-like symptoms and a possible contact with a SARS-infected individual. Scientists, led by Dr. David Kelvin of University Health Network at Toronto General Hospital, examined the blood from SARS patients from the 2003 outbreak for the presence of key immune molecules. They found that one immune molecule, known as IP-10, was detected at high levels in the blood of all SARS patients at the beginning of their illness. During the early stages of SARS, such high levels of IP-10 suggest that the body is beginning to fight the disease. As patients recover, the amount of IP-10 in the blood drops. However, in the patients with severe symptoms, IP-10 levels remain high. Because of these continued levels of IP-10, Dr. Kelvin and his team believe that the immune system is not working properly in those patients. This and other studies of immune responses in SARS-infected patients are likely to pave the way to the discovery of a vaccine.

CANVAC and its member institutions have filed three patent applications in the areas of SARS and immunoadjuvants. As well, CANVAC and Univalor, the commercialization arm of Université de Montréal, have invested over $700,000 in a promising new technology that can increase the potency and safety of a wide range of vaccines, including those being developed to treat cancer and HIV infection.

CANVAC has signed collaborative research agreements with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including sanofi pasteur, Berna Biotech Inc., Becton Dickinson, Beckman Coulter, Antigenics, BioVex, Microscience and Merix Bioscience. These collaborations allow CANVAC researchers to access complementary technologies that can advance their own work as well as that of the industry partners.

CANVAC is well placed to train skilled and valuable researchers for the Canadian workforce. CANVAC aims to raise the awareness of academic staff to the need to protect intellectual property and identify investment partners, and promote the creation of small biotechnology companies within the framework of academia. Trainees from the CANVAC program are highly suited for these types of academic research developments, as they develop the understanding of the private sector, the knowledge of requirements for developing patentable and marketable products, and a strong personal network of collaborators in both industry and academia. This makes them very attractive candidates for academic positions both as heads of laboratories as well as in technology transfer in academic or industrial settings.

Provincial Reach:

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Distribution of Research Personnel in 2004-2005

For more information visit the CANVAC Web site.