Agilvax, Inc., an Albuquerque-based start-up company developing several vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer immunotherapies, announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its HPV vaccine. Agilvax uses a proprietary virus-like-particle (VLP) platform technology developed at the University of New Mexico by UNM Dr. David Peabody and Dr. Bryce Chackerian from the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology. The VLP technology is used to rapidly identify and develop ideal vaccine candidates that are safe and can be manufactured rapidly at low cost. To read more, see the Agilvax press release, reprinted below.
Agilvax Receives New Patent for Its Cost-Effective Broadly Protective HPV Vaccine Candidate
Albuquerque, NM, September 06, 2016 – Agilvax, Inc. a leader in the discovery and development of vaccines and cancer immunotherapies is pleased to announce the Notice of Allowance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office on August 26, 2016 of a new patent related to the company’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine candidate.
The Notice of Allowance in U.S. Patent Application serial number 13/577,484 entitled, “Immunogenic HPV L2-Containing VLP’s and related compositions, contracts, and therapeutic methods” represents an important milestone in the development Agilvax’s next-generation HPV vaccine (AX03). AX03 is a recombinant bacteriophage VLP that has been engineered to display a peptide derived from the minor capsid protein, L2, of HPV, which is highly conversed across multiple HPV types. Thus, AX03 holds the potential to be a low-cost broadly protective HPV vaccine alternative to currently licensed vaccines.
HPV infection is a necessary cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer as well as a significant percentage of other anogenital carcinomas, and a growing percentage of oropharyngeal cancers. In the United States alone, it is estimated that in 2008, there were 79 million HPV infections, with 14 million new infections occurring each year.
AX03 is currently undergoing process development, which aided through a collaboration with the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) of the Nation Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Agilvax President and CEO stated that “AX03 represents the validation of the company’s proprietary VLP platform and represents a significant licensing opportunity. We look forward to advancing AX03 as well as additional vaccines and cancer immunotherapies using our VLP platform technology.”
About Agilvax
Agilvax (www.agilvax.com) is a biotechnology company that is developing targeted vaccines and cancer stem cell immunotherapies based on a proprietary virus-like particle (VLP) platform technology. The technology integrates epitope identification and immunogenic presentation in a single platform. Agilvax’s intellectual property portfolio related to the company’s VLP based vaccines and immunotherapies contains this patent, as well as eight pending patent applications. The Company was founded in 2011 and has headquarters in Albuquerque, NM and offices in El Paso, TX.