Zürich Switzerland 11th of April 2018 – Saiba Animal Health AG today announced the publication of Proof of Concept data for a vaccine for treating canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) in the renowned Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The data were published online 4th of April 2018 in an article entitled “Vaccination against IL‐31 for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in dogs”.
Furthermore, the paper on canine atopic dermatitis is published “back to back” with a manuscript entitled “Treating insect bite hypersensitivity in horses with active vaccination against IL‐5”. The vaccine described in this second work utilizes the same platform technology as that used by Saiba Animal Health.
Dr Gary T. Jennings CEO of Saiba Animal Health AG commented, “The encouraging result we achieved with the CAD vaccine (VC002) in a dog model of atopic dermatitis is a significant development milestone and suggests VC002 has the potential to make an important contribution to the treatment of this devastating condition. The tandem publications also show that our therapeutic virus‐like particle vaccine platform is able to induce clinically effective levels of neutralizing antibodies against different targets and in different species. This ably demonstrates the potential of our technology to be developed in to effective veterinary medicines.”
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology publishes high‐impact, cutting‐edge clinical and translational research papers for allergists, immunologists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, and other physicians and researchers interested in allergic diseases and clinical. The JACI is the most‐cited journal in the field of allergy and clinical immunology. (http://www.jacionline.org/)
About the CAD vaccine (VC002)
VC002 is a therapeutic vaccine in development for the treatment of canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). The product candidate VC002 represents a unique and novel approach to the treatment of CAD. Interleukin 31 is a key itchinducing cytokine produced by immune cells in the skin during the allergic reaction in atopic dogs. The pruritic action of IL‐31 can be neutralized with antibodies thereby providing marked clinical benefits to dogs suffering from CAD. VC002 is a virus‐like particle nanoparticle vaccine designed to induce anti‐IL31 antibodies when administered to dogs. In November 2015, Animal health company Benchmark Holdings PLC entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Saiba Animal Health GmbH to develop and commercialize the CAD vaccine (since termed VC002). In May 2017, Saiba Animal Health AG merged with Saiba Animal Health and the CAD vaccine became part of Saiba Animal Health’s product pipeline.
About canine atopic dermatitis
Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is an allergic disease that affects up to 10 % of dogs. It stems from a genetic predisposition to develop allergic symptoms following exposure to substances that are usually harmless. Dogs afflicted with CAD develop itching, excessive scratching and rubbing, hair loss, greasy or flaky skin with a foul odor, excessive chewing on the paws, groin and armpits. Over time, the affected skin becomes raw, inflamed and infected. Treatment of the condition is life‐long and until recently comprised allergen avoidance, symptomatic treatment, desensitization therapy and immunosuppressive therapies. These treatments had limited efficacy and were associated with side effects. Next generation biologic therapies, which includes Saiba Animal Health’s therapeutic vaccine, have the potential to provide better treatment options for CAD.