Soligenix to present results from ricin toxin vaccine program

Soligenix, Inc. will be presenting results from its ricin toxin vaccine (RiVax) development program at the 20th Annual Conference on Vaccine Research next week

RiVax is a proprietary vaccine candidate used for the prevention of ricin toxin exposure that utilizes an antigen devoid of ricin toxicity. When used in conjunction with the company’s proprietary heat stabilization technology, ThermoVax, RiVax demonstrated significantly enhanced thermostability and complete protection in preclinical ricin aerosol challenge models.

Soligenix, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health, recently conducted an analysis of the effectiveness of RiVax in animals and found that ThermoVax stabilization process significantly enhanced the stability of the RiVax antigen. Degradation in the antigen can also be measured with specific monoclonal antibodies and that those same monoclonal antibodies could be used to probe the immune profile of vaccinated mice and primates to predict their survival to ricin exposure.

Soligenix expects its findings to expedite the potential approval of RiVax under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Animal Rule. The rule states that drugs used to prevent life-threatening conditions caused by toxic substances may be granted marketing approval by the FDA based on the results of well-controlled animal efficacy studies when the results of those studies can be reasonably likely to produce clinical benefit in humans.

The presentation, titled Serum Antibody Profiling following Vaccination Reveals a Correlate of Immunity to Ricin Toxin, will be presented by Jennifer Yates of the New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center.