ZIP Solutions’ proprietary VACC-ZERA technology is an innovative tool to generate recombinant proteins in microparticles, especially suited for therapeutic and prophylactic adjuvant free vaccines that can be administered as DNA vaccines.
VACC-ZERA
DNA/RNA Vaccine PlatformWhat is VACC-ZERA?
How does VACC-ZERA work?
VACC-ZERA DNA vaccines are administered as pDNA consisting of the fusion of VACC-ZERA with the antigen of interest. Once internalized inside the cells, VACC-ZERA-antigen fusion protein is synthesized, processed and stored inside natural microparticles (Protein Bodies, PBs). These constitute a reservoir where the antigen is kept highly stable, allowing a slow and sustained release and, overall, enhancing the immune response. This localization of the expressed antigen has a positive effect on its presentation since VACC-ZERA Microparticles are avidly uptaken and processed by APCs.
Why VACC-ZERA?
VACC-ZERA DNA vaccines combine the advantages of the high performing VACC-ZERA peptide as immune response enhancer with the inherent benefits of DNA vaccines. VACC-ZERA DNA vaccines trigger the generation of antigen microparticles in the vaccinated organism and the high stability of the antigens sustains and amplifies the immune response.
VACC-ZERA technology for vaccine development achieve a very high immune response and bring proven added value to the antigen.
Key Advantages
- Therapeutic and Protective Vaccines.
- Strong cellular and humoral immune response due to the high accumulation levels (Depot effect) and high stability (Slow release) of VACC-ZERA- antigen.
- Intrinsic positive immunomodulatory effect.
- Complete tumor regression in cancer models.
- Complete virus clearance in virus models.
- Prolonged shelf life of VACC-ZERA protects the antigen from proteolytic degradation without the need of cold chain.
- Fast Design and Development.
- Heterologous prime/boost strategy regimen by applying a combination of VACC-ZERA-DNA and VACC-ZERA-protein vaccines.
Current status
VACC-ZERA technology has been validated in several animal models in preclinical studies.
VACC-ZERA DNA Vaccines
VACC-ZERA DNA vaccines have demonstrated its effectiveness in challenging experiments either as prophylactic or as therapeutic vaccines:
LCMV - Preclinical
Fig. 1. Complete virus clearance of infected mouse animals pre-treated with a DNA VACC-ZERA-Ag vaccine (NP). The inoculation with a DNA vaccine coding for the Antigen (without VACC-ZERA) only produced a partial effect.
Prostate cancer - Preclinical
Fig. 2. Complete tumor regression in experiments performed in animal models inoculated with a therapeutic DNA VACC-ZERA-Ag vaccine.
Product Development
Zip Solutions is developing VACC-ZERA-PCA1302 vaccine, an immunotherapy against prostate cancer in preclinical stage of development. VACC-ZERA-PCA1302 is able to break self-tolerance and induces a complete tumor regression, through a sustained and amplified immune response.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin malignancy in men and is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. There are at least 50-100.000 patients to be treated from recurrent disease; each treatment cost €40-90K à the total market is between €3-7B per year.
