Phylogica signs Asthma research agreement

Subiaco-based drug development company Phylogica Ltd will allow the Swiss Institute of Allergy & Asthma Research to screen its libraries of proteins for potential vaccine leads under a research collaboration agreement, the company has announced.

Phylogica's Phylomer peptides are stable fragments of naturally-occurring proteins with the ability to bind tightly to target proteins and inactivate them as a result.

If successful, the program will generate novel vaccine antigens that can be developed for allergen immunotherapy - the desensitisation of allergic individuals to common antigens like bee venom and birch pollen. Moreover, this technology has applicability for the common house dust mite, pollen and grass allergies.

The full text of a company announcement is pasted below

Phylogica Limited (ASX: PYC) announced today that it had signed a Research Collaboration Agreement with the prestigious Swiss Institute of Allergy & Asthma Research (SIAF).

The collaboration involves the screening of Phylogica's proprietary Phylomer® libraries for potential vaccine leads for the treatment of allergies and asthma. The project will be led by prominent researcher Professor Reto Crameri, who heads the Molecular Allergology Group at SIAF.

If successful, the program will generate novel vaccine antigens that can be developed for allergen immunotherapy - the desensitisation of allergic individuals to common antigens like bee venom and birch pollen. Moreover, this technology has applicability for the common house dust mite, pollen and grass allergies.

Approximately 56 million Americans suffer from allergic rhinitis and studies indicate that the prevalence of allergic rhinitis is increasing in the US and throughout the World. Just the annual cost of treating allergic rhinitis in the US exceeds US$3 billion.

"We believe that there will be a need for defined allergen mimetics for use in programs such as allergy desensitisation, as regulatory agencies like the US FDA are becoming more stringent in their requirements for use of defined chemical entities rather than crude allergen mixes extracted from natural sources," said Dr Paul Watt, VP Drug Discovery at Phylogica.

"In pursuing this project, we are also glad to have the opportunity to work with Professor Crameri, who is an acknowledged expert in the area of allergen mimetics and immunotherapy," added Dr Watt.