Immune activators – enhancing cell adhesion to safely improve effectiveness of vaccines & cancer immunotherapies

Author & Article Information

  • Authors: Dr. Siddhartha De, Dr. Peter Vanderslice


Abstract

7 Hills Pharma, of Houston, TX, is focused on the use of pro­prietary, orally available compounds that can activate the im­mune system to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines as well as immuno-oncology therapies for cancer, especially in patient pop­ulations that are most vulnerable to disease.

The company is one of seven start-up companies in the US, Canada, and Europe participating in the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Innovation – JLABS Blue Knight collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to help battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

BARDA is a component of the Office of the Assistant Secre­tary for Preparedness and Response in the US Department of Health and Human Services. The Blue Knight collaboration is de­signed to identify and accelerate development of innovative ther­apies and diagnostics to address global health security threats. It is anticipated that 7 Hills Pharma and the other six participating companies combined will receive approximately $500k and men­torship from J&J and BARDA.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, first appeared in late 2019 and erupted into a global pandemic infecting more than 100 million people and killing more than 2 million as of the end of January 2021, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. In the US, 25.8 million people have been infected and more than 430,000 have died.

In response to the urgent need to battle the pandemic, 7 Hills Pharma launched an evaluation of its lead immunostimulant, 7HP349, an oral small-molecule integrin activator, for use with COVID-19 vaccines. 7HP349 already was in development for use with vaccines for influenza.

Both vaccine programs target elderly populations whose im­mune systems have weakened with age. Age-related immune de­ficiencies are the reason 50% of older adults do not respond to protection from influenza vaccinations, and the same will likely occur with COVID-19 vaccinations.

7HP349 activates a class of receptors called integrins that mediate cell-to-cell adhesion, which is necessary for generating immune responses, including those required for vaccine effec­tiveness. This process, however, deteriorates with age. 7HP349 directly activates integrins in an effort to overcome age-related cell adhesion deficiencies. Integrin-mediated cell adhesion is es­sential for any immunotherapy, including immuno-oncology treatments.

7 Hills Pharma launched Phase 1 safety trials of 7HP349 in October 2020. Phase 2 trials of the immunostimulant with COVID-19 and influenza vaccines and immuno-oncology drugs are expected to begin in 2021.


See the original article here | Drug Development & Delivery

Previous
Previous

7 Hills Pharma Names Biopharma Industry Veteran Michael S. Perry Chairman of its Board of Managers

Next
Next

IMMUNE ACTIVATORS – Enhancing Cell Adhesion to Safely Improve Effectiveness of Vaccines & Cancer Immunotherapies