Developing T cell vaccines for HSV-2 Infection Jessica Baker Flechtner, PhD World Vaccine Congress 24-26 March, 2014
Deep Pipeline of T Cell-Enabled Vaccine Candidates Discovery Pre-clinical Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 (HSV-2 Tx) GEN-004 (Pneumococcus) HSV-2 Px Chlamydia Malaria Oncology January 2014 2
Epidemiology and Therapy of HSV-2 Incurable STD Public health epidemic 500 million people infected worldwide Increased risk of HIV-1 Serious complications of neonatal transmission www.private-testing.com Oral anti-viral drugs Incomplete symptom control Continued transmission risk Daily dosing for optimal effect 24 March 2014 3
The Unique Life Cycle of HSV-2 Has Made it Refractory to Vaccine Development Antibodies 1 T cells 2,3 1 Muggeridge (2000) J Gen Virol 24 March 2014 2 Koelle et al., (1998) JCI 4 3 Knickelbein et al., (2008) Science
Harnessing T Cells to Enable Vaccine Development Collect PBMC* from exposed humans HSV-2 proteome T cell response, by subject, by cohort Bioinformatics Uninfected, exposed Infected, asymptomatic Infected, 3 outbreaks/yr Infected, >3 outbreaks/yr ATLAS : high-throughput, comprehensive, T cell antigen discovery *PBMC = peripheral blood mononuclear cells 24 March 2014 5
: A Novel Therapeutic Vaccine Candidate Proposition T Cell Antigen ICP4.2 B Cell Antigen gd2 TMR Matrix- M2 adjuvant Reduce viral shedding and transmission risk Ameliorate symptoms Convenient dosing regimen Novel mechanism of action Novel T cell antigen prioritized via ATLAS January 2014 6
Significantly Reduces Symptoms in Guinea Pig Therapeutic Model Cumulative Lesion Score 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 Day Post Infection PBS Saline /MM Protein Only 55% + + + + + + + + * * * * + + + + + + * * * + + * * + + * * * * +=p<0.05 24 March 2014 *=p<0.01 7 2-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-test
Significantly Reduces Viral Shedding in Guinea Pig Therapeutic Model Shedding Frequency Mean Titer* % Positive Swabs Per GP (post 3 rd vaccination) 30 20 10 0 PBS Proteins Only Days 15-21 Days 22-36 Days 37-63 PBS 4.33 4.58 3.06 Proteins Only 4.18 3.51 2.48 3.73 3.38 Log Reduction in Titer for 0.6 1.2 3.1 * Expressed in Log10 copies/ml; calculated only from animals that are shedding 24 March 2014 8
Robust Phase 1/2a Trial Design Patients: 143 with HSV-2 infections Moderate-to-severe infections (3-9 outbreaks/year) Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled ~30 subjects in each of 5 groups: Placebo Proteins only (10 µg per protein + 50 µg adjuvant) (30 µg per protein + 50 µg adjuvant) (100 µg per protein + 50 µg adjuvant) 3 immunizations at 21 day intervals Endpoints: Safety, tolerability, immune response Impact on viral shedding Impact on symptoms (exploratory) 24 March 2014 9
Viral Shedding as an Indicator of Anti-Viral Effect Defined as the % of days with HSV-2 detected on the skin/mucous membranes Measured over defined intervals (28 days or more) Repeated measures before and after immunotherapy 24 March 2014 10
Statistically Significant, Durable Reduction in Viral Shedding Treatment Group # of Subjects (Post Dose 3) Mean Viral Shedding Frequency: Change from Baseline p-value # of Subjects (After 6 Months) Mean Viral Shedding Frequency: Change from Baseline p-value Placebo 28 +11% NS 23 +32% <0.003 No adjuvant 28 +18% NS 22 +14% NS (10 µg) (30 µg) (100 µg) 31 0% NS 26 +54% <0.001 29-50% <0.001 19-40% <0.001 27-29% <0.001 24-18% NS NS = not significant 24 March 2014 11
Shedding Rate Changes from Baseline by Treatment Arm 24 March 2014 12
Decreases the Frequency of Days with Ulcers Present 12 Genital Lesion Rate 10 8 6 4 2 0 72% reduction in lesion days 10 µg placebo no adjuvant 100 µg *** *** *** 30 µg Baseline After dose 3 After 6 months *** p<0.001 March 2014 13
Summary and Next Steps Rationally designed vaccine using ATLAS Compelling first-in-class profile in Phase 1/2a 50% reduction in viral shedding 72% reduction in symptomatic disease Durable for at least six months Well-tolerated Reporting 12-month data in mid-year Planned Phase 2 trials Adjuvant dose titration Dose number and interval 24 March 2014 14
Acknowledgements All the patients who participated in the study University of Washington Anna Wald MD, Phd Amalia Margaret, PhD Emma Robinson Westover Heights Clinic Terri Warren RN, ANP Basak Gokcora Indiana University School of Medicine Kenneth Fife MD Elisha Eppes NP Center for Clinical Studies, Houston TX Stephen Tyring MD Farhan Khan MD, MBA Center for Clinical Studies, Webster TX Patricia Lee MD Deborah Yetman IND2Results Amy Morris University of Alabama Birmingham Nick Van Wagoner MD Aeryn Peck Cincinnati Children s Medical Center David Bernstein MD Tara Foltz RN Rhonda Cardin, PhD Rho, Inc. Karen Kessler, PhD Patricia Stephenson, PhD Genocea Biosciences Seth Hetherington MD Alexander Lee Deborah Long, PhD Shane Larson Veronica Clemens Lena Kien Amy Baccari Omar Magid Danielle Garvie Bruno Piqani Bharat Dixit, PhD 24 March 2014 15