EQiTX to develop vaccine technology platform

Perth-based biotechnology company EQiTX and the CRC for Vaccine Technologies have negotiated an agreement for EQiTX to develop and commercialise the CRC's proprietary lipopeptide vaccine technology platform.

Ratification of the terms of the agreement is in process, said EqiTX CEO Noel Chambers, and would be finalised in due course.

The agreement involves technology that has been developed by the CRC over the last five years or so. The vaccines are synthetic, based on immunogenic peptides, which have been enhanced using the proprietary VacTX technology.

"It's both a platform and an enabling technology which potentially can be used against a range of diseases," Chambers said.

The technology inexpensively produces soluble formulations, which can be delivered by a variety of routes including intra-nasally. Published proof of principle studies in animals have demonstrated that the vaccines produced a superior immune response against viruses including influenza.

The company believes that the technology can be used against a range of bacterial and viral diseases including HIV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, hepatitis C and tuberculosis. In addition, it may have uses as a cancer vaccine as well as a treatment for a variety of allergic and inflammatory diseases such as asthma, arthritis and allergic dermatitis.

"Obviously the potential scope of this technology is enormous," Chambers said.

While the business strategy for the project is still under wraps until the agreement is ratified, Chambers said the technology would most likely be packaged as a commercial arrangement allowing joint development of the technology. Non-core areas would probably be licensed off to partners early on, allowing the company to focus on the core areas.

"It's a really nice project -- we're very pleased," Chambers said.