Disease and Epidemiology:
Chikungunya occurs in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The disease is caused by viral infection after a mosquito bite, and causes a debilitating illness, most often characterized by fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pain. Additionally, some patients have reported incapacitating joint pain, or arthritis which may last for weeks or months.
The Chikungunya Virus affects hundreds of thousands of people living in or traveling to endemic countries annually and has recently spread into territories in southern Europe including Italy. The high number of infected travelers demonstrates the need for a vaccine.
In the last decades, major outbreaks were observed in Africa and the islands of the Indian Ocean. A large number of imported cases in Europe were associated with these outbreaks, mostly in 2006 when the Indian Ocean epidemic was at its peak. A large outbreak of chikungunya in India occurred in 2006 and 2007. Several other countries in South-East Asia were also affected. In 2007 transmission was reported for the first time in Europe, in a localized outbreak in northeastern Italy.
Our Vaccine Candidate:
The Themaxyn™ technology can be applied to the development of a vaccine for travelers, but also for at-risk individuals in endemic developing countries.
Currently, two different vaccine constructs are being synthesized. After expansion on vero cells, the experimental vaccine will then be tested in mouse experiments to gather information on immunogenicity and efficacy.
The most promising vaccine candidate will then be transferred into a GMP environment for the manufacturing of material for toxicity and clinical trials. Phase 1 clinical trial start is currently estimated for late 2012.