Category Archives: Blog
Tregitope Meeting held May 11, 2011
Researchers gathered to hear the latest Tregitope research updates on May 11, 2011. Representatives from the FDA, Pfizer, Amgen, CSL Behring, Lilly & C0., and academic experts from McGill University, the NIH, Harvard, Childrens’ Hospital of Philadelphia University of Massachusetts, NIHS (Japan) discussed the latest Tregitope findings, including the effects on transplantation tolerance, allergy, protein therapeutics, and autoimmunity. Continue reading
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April Showers, May Flowers and Leech Protein “Quality by Design”
I have leeches on my mind because of a little computational inquiry we completed today after years of delay (thank you Becky Martin). It didn’t take long (perhaps about 15 minutes), but there it was – the answer to my query: Hirudin has few T cell epitopes. Remarkably few. Sometimes it’s a good idea to pay attention to the outliers. Like leeches basking in the moonlight on the garden path. Continue reading
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Tagged Biologics, Immunogenicity, leech hirudin evolution deimmunization, Tregitope
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Déjà vu all over again! Or re-learning a lesson from Humira
Why is the recent announcment that Humira was immunogenic in a clinical study “Déjà vu all over again?” – It is reaffirmation that T-cell driven immunogenicity is critically important to the success of biologics in the clinic. It is also reaffirmation that relying on ‘fully human’ source of the biologic sequence is not the easy solution that we’d like to believe in, for biologic drug development. We might have to use our brains . . . Continue reading
Expression of concern to our Japanese colleagues and friends
To our dear friends and colleagues in Japan We have been following the events that are unfolding in Japan with great concern. Our hearts go out to the victims of the great earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Please … Continue reading
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Immunogenicity: Determinants and Correlates
A ‘don’t-miss’ meeting of academic researchers, immunologists, and industry scientists gathering to discuss in silico, in vitro and in vivo drivers of human immune response. The meeting is followed by a hands-on training in immunoinformatics (TRIAD Toolkit) and the annual Tregitope meeting (discussion of tolerance-inducing Tregitope). Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Events
Tagged Biologics, biotech, Conference, Conferences, Immunogenicity, Tolerance, Tregitope, Tregitopes, TRIAD
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Immunogenicity: Determinants and Correlates
SAVE THE DATE
May 9, 10 and 11
1st Immunogenicity – Determinates and Correlates
Providence, RI Continue reading
Grapefruits, Snowflakes, Solstice
A box of grapefruits arrived today in their pinkest glory, all the way from Texas. The first snowflakes also arrived, and they are sparkling in the streetlights outside. It is dark and it is cold, yet we are fortunate to live in a world so full of contrasts Continue reading
The end of AIDS and Balm in Gilead
What do “love gloves” and a little blue pill have in common? They prevent HIV transmission, and now at least one has the blessing of the Pope! Love gloves is just another word for condoms, and the pill in question is Truvada. These two interventions, combined (when used appropriately), may bring a significant reduction in transmission of HIV around the world, and will be of enormous value because they are cheap, safe, and effective and can be used at the time of ‘risky behavior’ by persons who know that they are about to take a risk. Continue reading
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The Thin Red Line
This post is by John Rozehnal and Lauren Levitz – Volunteers HIV vaccine research at the GAIA Vaccine Foundation project in Mali, West Africa. . . . In conducting HIV vaccine research in Bamako, as with any other task, there are fast days and there are slow days. On slow days, we volunteer at the local health clinic, where Lauren works with the midwives in the maternity ward and John performs tests in the clinic’s humble diagnostic lab. One of the most common diagnostic procedures is providing HIV tests to pregnant women. It is staggeringly easy to prevent transmission from mother to child, and doing so is the kind of high-yield intervention that many clinics, ours included, focus their resources on. Our clinic in particular has become a model that the Malian Ministry of Health is looking to bring to scale. Continue reading
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Tagged GAIA Vaccine Foundation, HIV testing, HIV Vaccine, Mali, West Africa
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Pandora’s box in Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood: Immunogenicity and Tolerance
We spent the last few days of this week in Seattle, walking between Benaroya 25th anniversary seminar on autoimmunity and the Keystone vaccine meeting, which were both in the same beautiful neighborhood, with great views of Elliot Bay. It was thought provoking to be alternating between listening to vaccinologists, who were trying to activate innate immune responses, and autoimmunity folks, who were trying to figure out how to shut them off. The proximity of the two meetings made me start thinking about the effect of vaccination on host cell proteins – in the same neighborhood – opening a virtual “Pandora’s box”. I wonder whether induction of immune response in vaccination is limited to the target antigen? Or, is it possible that vaccination induces immune response against host cell proteins that are in the same neighborhood? Continue reading
