1 September, 2020
Trained Therapeutix Discovery, Inc. (“TTxD”), an immunotherapy biotech company founded by Jean Boulle Therapeutics, notes the results of a clinical trial1 (“the Trial”) published in Cell showing that trained immunity through the use of BCG vaccination can reduce respiratory tract infections by 80% amongst elderly people including, potentially, COVID-19.
The Trial provides further evidence that BCG induces trained immunity responses and validates the approach followed by TTxD which uses advanced bioengineering methods to produce nanobiologic therapeutics based upon components of the BCG vaccine.
The Trial was coordinated by Mihai G. Netea, founder and Chair of TTxD’s scientific advisory board and Professor of Experimental Internal Medicine at Radboud UMC. The Trial was a collaboration between the University of Athens Medical School, Radboud University Medical Center and the Life & Medical Sciences Institute, University of Bonn.
Various studies have shown that BCG vaccination can control the production of cytokines by the immune system to provide non-specific beneficial effects against infections. TTxD’s proprietary platform technology is based on over a decade of research and development2.
Under an exclusive license from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, TTxD applies advanced bioengineering methods to develop nanobiologic therapeutics based upon the BCG vaccine. Nanobiologics are materials constructed from molecular building blocks that our body produces naturally. The advantage of this approach is that nanobiologic therapy modulates natural mechanisms to regulate the innate immune system with materials that are inherently well tolerated by the body.
Commenting on the Trial, Mihai Netea, MD, PhD co-founder of TTxD said: “The trials show a significant reduction of respiratory tract infections in people vaccinated with BCG and add to TTxD’s growing scientific evidence that trained immunity can play an important role in fighting the world’s most lethal diseases and saving lives.”
Leighton Durham, Co-Chief Executive Officer of TTxD said: “The scientific team at TTxD identified the potential of the body’s innate immune system to be effective in a number of clinical settings through the process now known as trained immunity. Today’s news is proof that trained immunity could be effective against COVID-19 infection and dramatically improves the health of elderly patients. We are delighted that this news builds on the team’s track record of trained immunity studies in infectious diseases, oncology and organ transplantation.”
2 www.nature.com/articles/s41573-019-0025-4
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Audrey Richardson
Jean Boulle Medtech
+352 222 512
https://jeanboullegroup.com/therapeutics/
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Notes to Editors:
TTxD https://ttxdiscovery.com/
TTxD’s proprietary platform technology is based on over a decade of research and development. Using bioengineering methods, TTxD produces nanobiologic therapeutics that can induce an immune response against tumors or dampen hyperinflammation after organ transplantation. TTxD has an established library of nanobiologic therapeutics relevant to many potentially fatal diseases, including Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
Traditionally, it has been assumed that immunological memory is exclusively located in our adaptive immune system. Pioneering work from TTxD founders Mihai Netea and Leo Joosten has revealed that the innate immune systems also has adaptive characteristics. This de facto innate immune memory is called ‘trained immunity’.
Jean Boulle Therapeutics https://jeanboullegroup.com/therapeutics/
Boulle Therapeutics, part of the Jean Boulle Group, is a long-term investor in novel techniques for treating harmful diseases. Boulle Therapeutics identifies, invests in, and supports the development of early, seed stage innovations that have the potential to save lives and improve the quality of life for large numbers of people. Boulle Therapeutics works closely with a range of investors and other partners who share its approach to the development of early stage technologies.
Radboud University https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/patient-care
Radboud University have today issued the following press release relating to the publication by Cell: https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/news-and-media