Development And Clinical Progress Of Dna Vaccines

DNA vaccines have progressed rapidly from the conceptual stage to the stage of clinical trials. While studies in small laboratory animals have shown great promise, initial reports from human studies were less encouraging. Progress is being made, however, documented by the papers presented here. This volume contains the proceedings of a meeting devoted to the latest developments in DNA vaccines, from laboratory studies to clinical trials. The papers, written by leaders in the field, focus on the current state of DNA vaccines in humans and other large animals. The bulk of the studies involve DNA vaccines against HIV/SIV. Other promising trials make use of DNA vaccines against malaria and hepatitis B. The papers inform the reader about the immune basis of this form of vaccination and about approaches being developed to increase the efficacy of DNA vaccines in humans. These include the co-administration of cytokines, prime-boost strategies, optimising codon usage or the use of CpG motifs. An excellent up-to-the-minute account, this volume should be read by anyone in academia or in industry involved in DNA vaccination. The book will also be of great interest to clinicians involved in trials and those in the regulatory area.

DNA vaccines have progressed rapidly from the conceptual stage to the stage of clinical trials. While studies in small laboratory animals have shown great promise, initial reports from human studies were less encouraging. Progress is being made, however, documented by the papers presented here. This volume contains the proceedings of a meeting devoted to the latest developments in DNA vaccines, from laboratory studies to clinical trials. The papers, written by leaders in the field, focus on the current state of DNA vaccines in humans and other large animals. The bulk of the studies involve DNA vaccines against HIV/SIV. Other promising trials make use of DNA vaccines against malaria and hepatitis B. The papers inform the reader about the immune basis of this form of vaccination and about approaches being developed to increase the efficacy of DNA vaccines in humans. These include the co-administration of cytokines, prime-boost strategies, optimising codon usage or the use of CpG motifs. An excellent up-to-the-minute account, this volume should be read by anyone in academia or in industry involved in DNA vaccination. The book will also be of great interest to clinicians involved in trials and those in the regulatory area.

The field of DNA vaccines has undergone explosive growth in the last few years. As usual, some historical precursors of this approach can be d- cerned in the scientific literature of the last decades. However, the present state of affairs appears to date from observations made discreetly in 1988 by Wolff, Malone, Felgner, and colleagues, which were described in a 1989 patent and published in 1990. Quite surprisingly, they showed that genes carried by pure plasmid DNA and injected in a saline solution, hence the epithet “naked DNA,” could be taken up and expressed by skeletal muscle cells with a low but reproducible frequency. Such a simple methodology was sure to spawn many applications. In a separate and important line of experimentation, Tang, De Vit, and Johnston announced in 1992 that it was indeed possible to obtain humoral immune responses against proteins encoded by DNA delivered to the skin by a biolistic device, which has colloquially become known as the “gene gun. ” The year 1993 saw the publication of further improvements in the me- ods of naked DNA delivery and, above all, the first demonstrations by several groups of the induction of humoral and cytotoxic immune responses to viral antigens expressed from injected plasmid DNA. In some cases, protection against challenge with the pathogen was obtained. The latter result was - questionably the touchstone of a method of vaccination worthy of the name.

Vaccines have made it possible to eradicate the scourge of smallpox, promise the same for polio, and have profoundly reduced the threat posed by other diseases such as whooping cough, measles, and meningitis. What is next? There are many pathogens, autoimmune diseases, and cancers that may be promising targets for vaccine research and development. This volume provides an analytic framework and quantitative model for evaluating disease conditions that can be applied by those setting priorities for vaccine development over the coming decades. The committee describes an approach for comparing potential new vaccines based on their impact on morbidity and mortality and on the costs of both health care and vaccine development. The book examines: Lessons to be learned from the polio experience. Scientific advances that set the stage for new vaccines. Factors that affect how vaccines are used in the population. Value judgments and ethical questions raised by comparison of health needs and benefits. The committee provides a way to compare different forms of illness and set vaccine priorities without assigning a monetary value to lives. Their recommendations will be important to anyone involved in science policy and public health planning: policymakers, regulators, health care providers, vaccine manufacturers, and researchers.

This report surveys opportunities for future Army applications in biotechnology, including sensors, electronics and computers, materials, logistics, and medical therapeutics, by matching commercial trends and developments with enduring Army requirements. Several biotechnology areas are identified as important for the Army to exploit, either by direct funding of research or by indirect influence of commercial sources, to achieve significant gains in combat effectiveness before 2025.

This book presents a detailed overview of the development of new viral vector-based vaccines before discussing two major applications: preventive vaccines for infectious diseases and therapeutic cancer vaccines. Viral vector-based vaccines hold a great potential for development into successful pharmaceutical products and several examples at the advanced pre-clinical or clinical stage are presented. Nevertheless, the most efforts were focused on novel and very innovative technologies for new generation of vector-based vaccines. Furthermore, specific topics such as delivery and adjuvant and protection strategies for cell-mediated-based vaccines are presented. Given its scope, the book is a “must read” for all those involved in vaccine development, both in academia and industrial vaccine development.

Development of Vaccines: From Discovery to Clinical Testing outlines the critical steps, and analytical tools and techniques, needed to take a vaccine from discovery through a successful clinical trial. Contributions from leading experts in the critical areas of vaccine expression, purification, formulation, pre-clinical testing and regulatory submissions make this book an authoritative collection of issues, challenges and solutions for progressing a biologic drug formulation from its early stage of discovery into its final clinical testing. A section with details and real-life experiences of toxicology testing and regulatory filing for vaccines is also included.

Vaccine Manufacturing and Production is an invaluable reference on how to produce a vaccine - from beginning to end - addressing all classes of vaccines from a processing, production, and regulatory viewpoint. It will provide comprehensive information on the various fields involved in the production of vaccines, from fermentation, purification, formulation, to regulatory filing and facility designs. In recent years, there have been tremendous advances in all aspects of vaccine manufacturing. Improved technology and growth media have been developed for the production of cell culture with high cell density or fermentation. Vaccine Manufacturing and Production will serve as a reference on all aspects of vaccine production by providing an in-depth description of the available technologies for making different types of vaccines and the current thinking in facility designs and supply issues. This book will provide insight to the issues scientists face when producing a vaccine, the steps that are involved, and will serve as a reference tool regarding state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing technologies and facility set-up. Highlights include: Comprehensive coverage of vaccine production : from a process point of view- fermentation to purification to formulation developments; from a production point of view - from facility design to manufacturing; and from a regulatory point of view - requirements from government agencies Authors from different major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies Describes the challenges and issues involved in vaccine production and manufacturing of the different classes of vaccines, an area not covered by other books currently on the market