Vaccine technology has evolved significantly in the last decade, profoundly changing the future of vaccine development. The urgent need to accelerate response time to emerging threats, make vaccines more widely available and ready for quick deployment, develop vaccines against difficult targets, and improve delivery systems for maximum potency have been the impetus behind many advances in vaccine technology. Synthetic vaccine candidates, genomic analysis of disease progression and vaccine response, structure-based antigen design, and nanoparticle delivery systems are just a few of the realizations of this effort. CHI’s Twelfth Annual Advances in Vaccine Technologies will present the latest advancements and applications of vaccine technology, and a look forward to overcoming current challenges.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29
12:00 pm Registration
1:15 Chairperson’s Remarks
Martha Alexander-Miller, Ph.D., Chair & Professor, Microbiology & Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine
1:20 Broadly Protective Influenza Vaccines – Protection against Mismatch
Harry Kleanthous, Ph.D., Associate Vice President, Head, Research (North America), Sanofi Pasteur
1:50 A Novel R848-Conjugated Inactivated Influenza Virus Vaccine Is Safe and Effective in Neonates
Martha Alexander-Miller, Ph.D., Chair & Professor, Microbiology & Immunology, Wake Forest School of Medicine
Influenza vaccines are not approved for use in infants under 6 months of age as a result of their limited effectiveness in this group. We have developed an R848 conjugated inactivated influenza vaccine that induces robust immunity and increased protection in a nonhuman primate neonate model. This opens the door to development of vaccines that are efficacious in young infants.
2:20 Results of a PhIa Study of M2SR Influenza Vaccine in Healthy Adults
Pamuk Bilsel, Ph.D., CSO, FluGen
FluGen’s M2SR (Single Replication) influenza vaccine candidate has demonstrated universal characteristics in animal models providing broad-spectrum, long-lasting cross-protection against multiple influenza subtypes (H3N2, H1N1 and H5N1). M2SR is administered intranasally to mimic a natural infection and induce broad-spectrum immunity including mucosal and cell-mediated responses. We will present the results of the first-in-man clinical study testing the safety and immunogenicity of M2SR in healthy adults.
2:50 Improving Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness
Ashesh Gandhi, PharmD, Regional Head, Seqirus
3:20 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
4:00 PLENARY KEYNOTE SESSION
4:00 Regulatory and Scientific Considerations for Cancer Vaccines and Adoptive Cellular Immunotherapy
Graeme E. Price, Ph.D., Research Microbiologist, Gene Transfer & Immunogenicity, FDA CBER
Cell and Gene therapy including therapeutic vaccines and cellular immunotherapy products are evaluated at FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies (OTAT) previously known as Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies. I will discuss current general regulatory and scientific considerations in the regulation of therapeutic cancer vaccines and cellular immunotherapy. In addition, research activities in OTAT will be summarized.
4:45 Market Access and Reimbursement for Immuno-Oncology Drugs in Today’s Healthcare System
Gergana Zlateva, Ph.D., Vice President, Payer Insights and Access, Oncology, Pfizer
Now that immunotherapies have hit the market, with the promise of more to come, the healthcare system will need to establish standards for cost and reimbursement of immuno-oncology agents. This talk will address how the healthcare marketplace can prepare for the adoption of novel pricing and reimbursement models to increase patient access to immunotherapies. Establishing the value of IO therapies to payers and HTAs will also be addressed in the context of pricing and evidence generation.
Click here for keynote biographies
5:30 Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
5:30 Dinner Short Course Registration*
SC1: Bioinformatics for Immuno-Oncology and Translational Research
SC2: Microbiome in Immuno-Oncology
*Separate registration required, please click here for more information.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30
7:00 am Registration
7:25 Breakout Discussion Groups with Continental Breakfast
8:25 Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Peter Pushko, Ph.D., President & CSO, Medigen
8:30 mRNA Vaccines, from Preclinical to Clinical
Mike Watson, President, Valera, A Moderna Venture
9:00 Novel Vaccine Technologies against Emerging Viruses
Peter Pushko, Ph.D., President & CSO, Medigen
Safe and effective countermeasures are needed for emerging viruses. We developed two novel vaccine technologies to prepare experimental vaccines for avian influenza, alpha- and flaviviruses. The multi-subtype virus-like particle (VLP) approach was designed to display multiple subtypes of hemagglutinin to induce immunity to all influenza subtypes known to infect humans. In addition, we developed novel DNA-based vaccines, which use plasmid DNA to launch live-attenuated alpha- and flavivirus vaccines in vivo.
9:30 A Novel Alternative Approach to Develop a Safe Vaccine for Zika
Farshad Guirakhoo, Ph.D., CSO, GeoVax, Inc.
Development of a safe and effective vaccine against Zika virus (ZIKV) is an urgent global health priority. GEO-ZM02 vaccine demonstrated 100% protection against lethal challenge after a single dose in a rigorous mouse model. Unlike other vaccines, which rely on ZIKV structural proteins, GEO-ZM02 is based on the NS1antigen that does not carry the risk of ADE and could potentially block transmission of ZIKV from humans back to its mosquito host.
10:00 Development of a Structurally-Stabilized Glycoprotein Vaccine for Lassa Fever
Robert Garry, Ph.D., Professor & Director, Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University School of Medicine
10:30 Coffee Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
11:15 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: DNA Immunization: From Vaccines to mAbs
Shan Lu, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Since the discovery of DNA immunization technology in the early 1990s, significant progress has been made in both basic research and clinical applications of this novel approach. DNA vaccines have been included in a wide range of human and animal vaccine development programs. Experience has also been accumulated in using this approach to elicit unique and high quality monoclonal antibodies in both animal and humans.
11:45 DNA Vaccines as Treatment for Prostate Cancer
Douglas G. McNeel, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine & Director, Solid Tumor Immunology Research, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center
We have been interested in DNA vaccines as T cell activating therapies for prostate cancer, with efforts to understand their mechanisms of action and tumor resistance. We present recent findings demonstrating upregulation of PD-1 and LAG3 with T cell activation, and translation of these findings to clinical trials using checkpoint inhibition with DNA vaccination to elicit objective responses in patients with advanced, metastatic prostate cancer.
12:15 pm Development of a New Generation of DNA Vaccines Using Syncon® Technology
Anna Slager, Product Development Scientist, Inovio
Breaking tolerance remains a challenge for cancer vaccine development. Here we demonstrate that the new generation of DNA vaccines designed using SynCon® technology exhibited stronger ability to break tolerance and induced robust cellular immune responses.
12:45 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Enjoy Lunch on Your Own
1:15 Session Break
1:55 Chairperson’s Remarks
David E. Anderson, Ph.D., CSO, VBI Vaccines
2:00 Harnessing the Immunogenicity of Foreign Viral CMV Antigens to Target Solid Tumors
David E. Anderson, Ph.D., CSO, VBI Vaccines
The failure of many past cancer vaccines can be attributed at least in part to the inherently poor immunogenicity of the “self” tumor antigens they used. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) “foreign” viral antigens are expressed in over 90% of glioblastoma (GBM) and breast cancers. We are using enveloped virus-like particles (eVLPs) expressing the CMV pp65 and gB antigens to restimulate and redirect CD4+ and CD8+ T cell anti-tumor immunity. Plans are to file an IND for a Phase I/IIa trial with the FDA in H1 2017.
2:30 ATLAS™ Technology Identifies Unique Candidate Antigens for Potential Personalized Cancer Vaccines
Wendy Broom, Ph.D., Associate Director, Innovation and Automation, Genocea Biosciences
Current approaches to neoantigen prioritization involve deep sequencing of tumors, followed by selection of epitopes based on MHC class I focused prediction algorithms. ATLAS™ is a platform in which putative antigens are expressed as individual clones that can be processed by any subject’s antigen presenting cells and presented to autologous CD4+ or CD8+ T cells for measurement of recall responses. Data from recent neoantigen studies utilizing the ATLAS™ platform will be presented which reinforce the need to develop T cell immunotherapies with biologically relevant neoantigens.
3:00 DNA Vaccines for Therapeutic Treatment of Cancer
Emma Masteller, Ph.D., Senior Director, Immuno-Oncology R&D, Inovio Pharmaceuticals
Vaccines that generate robust and durable T cell immunity are needed as therapies for cancer. Inovio has developed a powerful technology platform to facilitate the discovery, development, and delivery of a new generation of DNA vaccines. These highly optimized synthetic vaccines are able to induce strong T cells responses. Even with the generation of tumor-specific T cells, the immunosuppression induced by the tumor still needs to be overcome. This talk will cover preclinical studies aimed at elucidating optimal immunotherapies to combine with DNA vaccines to eradicate cancer.
3:30 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
4:15 A Novel and Safe Viral Vector Platform for Developing Vaccines for Infectious Diseases and Cancer
Farshad Guirakhoo, Ph.D., CSO, GeoVax, Inc.
GeoVax utilizes its recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector to express foreign antigens on virus-like particles (VLPs) in the person being vaccinated. The MVA-VLP platform has several advantages including the ability to use single inoculations to achieve protection for hemorrhagic fever and Zika virus. The elicitation of both durable antibody and T cell responses has been shown for HIV in several clinical trials and the work on other infectious diseases and cancer is in progress.
4:45 A Systems Approach to Develop HIV Vaccines
Jishnu Das, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Lauffenburger Lab, Biological Engineering, MIT & Alter Lab, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT & Harvard
A major reason for the failure of HIV vaccines is the selection of immunogens based on antibody titer and neutralization, Fab domain functions that do not mechanistically drive protection. When neutralization fails to predict protection, a wide range of Fc effector functions drive protection and post-infection control. My talk will elucidate a systems serology approach that uses this ensemble of Ab functions to uncover mechanisms of action of HIV vaccines.
5:15 Close of Advances in Vaccine Technologies