A representative of GenVec Inc., a clinical-stage gene delivery company — recently made a presentation emphasizing the importance of gorilla adenovectors at the Vaccines R&D 2015 Conference.
The presentation, titled “Gorilla Adenovirus Vectors for Molecular Therapeutics and Vaccines,” distinguished the differences and improved performance characteristics when the gorilla adenovectors from GenVec were used as molecular vaccines. After just one administration, these adenovectors can provoke durable, strong T cell and antibody responses against an encoded antigen.
GenVec has partnered with the Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology (LMIV), a branch of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to combine the gorilla adenovectors alongside new malaria protein and antigen vaccine methods. In its preclinical models, the combination has promising outcomes to stop the transmission from carrier mosquitoes to hosts via malaria parasites.
“These preclinical data generated by our collaborators show high levels of durable antibody responses to LMIV’s antigens,” Douglas Brough, the chief scientific officer of GenVec and the presenter of this research, said. “These antibodies can be taken up by a mosquito when it bites a vaccinated individual and stop oocyst generation, neutralizing the parasite and blocking further transmission.”
