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.
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