Neovacs — www.neovacs.fr — is a French biotech company focused on the development of Kinoids®, therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of autoimmune, inflammatory diseases, allergies, and cancer.  They presented pre-clinical results for T1D its therapeutic vaccine, IFNα Kinoid, during an ADA poster session on June 9th in San Francisco.

Dr. Noemie Caillot, PhD (Neovacs), presented results of studies conducted in collaboration with Dr. Agnès Lehuen and Pr. Christian Boitard from the Department of Immunology of Diabetes at the Hospital Cochin in Paris, which have confirmed that treatment with IFNα Kinoid induces:

• Strong production of neutralizing antibodies against IFNα following IFNα Kinoid administration
• Notable delay in the onset of Type 1 Diabetes in relation to the persistence of anti-IFNalpha neutralizing antibodies

IFNα Kinoid is an anti-IFNalpha vaccine which has already demonstrated in a Phase IIb clinical study conducted for Lupus a strong immune response (91,4% responder patients) and also that a good safety profile can be achieved with the vaccine.

Neovacs Technology

Neovacs targets pathologies associated with an overproduction of endogenous cytokines; substances such as interferon, interleukin, and growth factors, which are secreted by certain cells of the immune system and have an effect on other cells.

This active immunotherapy generates an immune response through the administration of an immunogenic complex involving the target cytokine in a carrier protein. The intramuscular injection of this Kinoid induces an immune response and stimulates the production of polyclonal antibodies against the target cytokines.

It is thus possible to block cytokine overproduction and its pharmacological effects.

Several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases — Type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, etc.― are characterized by a disorder in which cytokines are produced in excess. This overproduction promotes inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system.

About Neovacs

Neovacs has focused its clinical development efforts on IFNα-Kinoid, an immunotherapy being developed for the indication of lupus, dermatomyositis and also in preclinical trial for Type 1 diabetes.

Neovacs is also conducting preclinical development works on other therapeutic vaccines in the fields of auto-immune diseases, oncology, and allergies.

The goal of the Kinoid approach is to enable patients to have access to safe treatments with efficacy that is sustained in these life-long diseases.