SBIR-STTR Award

Preventing Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infections represent a critical unmet medical need. Development of an effective vaccine would not only reduce the morbidity associated with these infections, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility, chronic pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancy, but could also reduce collateral riss including HIV transmission. Despite decades of efforts, no vaccine is currently available. The ability to generate a useful vaccine has been limited by 1) the lack of an effective method to deliver antigens that will elicit protective humeral and cell-mediated responses, and 2) the identification of specific antigenic sequences that would protect individuals from the Ct strains that cause sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The proprietary nutritive immune-enhancing delivery system (NIDS) developed by EpitoGenesis, Inc. and the broad-based sequence assessment performed by the Dean lab, in addition to the exciting preliminary data on an Ct and HIV-1 vaccine constructs, provide a unique opportunity to finally obtain an efficacious vaccine that can protect against vaginal transmission of Ct through the use of the novel antigenic constructs formulated with the novel, safe and effective NIDS for mucosal and systemic vaccinations. Furthermore, combinations of mucosal and systemic vaccination routes, lack of sequence homology to human antigens, and promising preliminary results from both EpitoGenesis and the Dean lab warrant a novel vaccine design and vaccination approach that hold promise of success.

Public Health Relevance:
The proprietary, Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) antigenic constructs developed by Dr. Deborah Dean, and the nutritive immune-enhancing delivery system (NIDS) developed by EpitoGenesis, provide a unique opportunity to develop an efficacious vaccine that can protect against vaginal transmission of Ct.

Preventing Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infections represent a critical unmet medical need. Development of an effective vaccine would not only reduce the morbidity associated with these infections, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility, chronic pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancy, but could also reduce collateral riss including HIV transmission. Despite decades of efforts, no vaccine is currently available. The ability to generate a useful vaccine has been limited by 1) the lack of an effective method to deliver antigens that will elicit protective humeral and cell-mediated responses, and 2) the identification of specific antigenic sequences that would protect individuals from the Ct strains that cause sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The proprietary nutritive immune-enhancing delivery system (NIDS) developed by EpitoGenesis, Inc. and the broad-based sequence assessment performed by the Dean lab, in addition to the exciting preliminary data on an Ct and HIV-1 vaccine constructs, provide a unique opportunity to finally obtain an efficacious vaccine that can protect against vaginal transmission of Ct through the use of the novel antigenic constructs formulated with the novel, safe and effective NIDS for mucosal and systemic vaccinations. Furthermore, combinations of mucosal and systemic vaccination routes, lack of sequence homology to human antigens, and promising preliminary results from both EpitoGenesis and the Dean lab warrant a novel vaccine design and vaccination approach that hold promise of success.

Public Health Relevance Statement:
The proprietary, Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) antigenic constructs developed by Dr. Deborah Dean, and the nutritive immune-enhancing delivery system (NIDS) developed by EpitoGenesis, provide a unique opportunity to develop an efficacious vaccine that can protect against vaginal transmission of Ct.

NIH Spending Category:
Biotechnology; Immunization; Infectious Diseases; Prevention; Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Herpes; Vaccine Related

Project Terms:
Antibody Formation; Antigen-Presenting Cells; Antigens; base; Base Sequence; Catechin; Cells; Chimera organism; Chlamydia trachomatis; chronic pelvic pain; Clinical Trials; Common iliac lymph node; cost; cytokine; Data; design; Development; Dose; Drug Formulations; Ectopic Pregnancy; Epithelial Cells; Flavonoids; granzyme B; high risk; HIV; HIV-1; Homing; Human; Immune; Immune response; Immunity; Immunization; immunogenicity; improved; Individual; Infection; Infertility; Laboratories; Lead; Life; Lymphocyte antigen; Measures; Mediating; Medical; meetings; Membrane; Methods; Modeling; Morbidity - disease rate; Mucous Membrane; Mus; Mustard (food); novel; novel vaccines; Oils; Pelvic Inflammatory Disease; Phase; Population; Positioning Attribute; Preparation; prevent; protective efficacy; Publishing; Regimen; Research; response; Risk; Route; Safety; Sampling; Schedule; Seeds; Sequence Homology; Serum; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Small Business Technology Transfer Research; Spleen; success; System; Testing; transmission process; Vaccinated; Vaccination; vaccine candidate; Vaccine Design; Vaccines; Vagina; vaginal transmission; Vitamin A; Vitamin E