News
19 April 2013
ImmusanT’s Epitope-Specific Immunotherapy for Celiac Disease Informs the Potential of Vaccines Against Other Autoimmune Diseases
In autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease and Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks its own cells. Current treatments for many autoimmune disorders are limited to immunosuppressants, but researchers are exploring the possibility of using therapeutic vaccines known as antigen-specific immunotherapy. Currently a vaccine that is designed to allow patients with celiac disease to eat gluten (the antigen) is in clinical trials. ImmusanT, the company developing the celiac vaccine, and its research partners are utilizing their expertise in celiac disease as a model to increase understanding of antigenspecific immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases. Recent review articles highlight advances made in designing immunotherapies and new methods for monitoring celiac disease as well as other autoimmune disorders such as Type 1 diabetes.more (PDF 120K) >
11 March 2013
A Race to Fix Celiac Disease
When Leslie Williams, a former pharmaceutical executive, agreed to meet a visiting professor from Australia in Boston for a lecture, she thought it would be a routine lunch in her role as a business mentor. But the meeting, three years ago at the Boston Cambridge Marriott, turned into an intense five-hour discussion as Dr. Robert Anderson explained how his research into celiac disease promised to render the destructive disorder obsolete. An autoimmune disease triggered by gluten proteins in wheat, barley, and rye, celiac disease affects some 3 million Americans. Untreated, it can destroy digestive tract tissue and can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, infertility, neurological dysfunction, or even cancer. more (PDF 120K) >
12 November 2012
CEO/CFO Magazine Interview with ImmusanT CEO: Leslie Williams
In Clinical Trails in the US, Australia and New Zealand for their Nexvax2® Therapeutic Vaccine for Celiac Disease and companion Diagnostic and Monitoring Tool, ImmusanT is offering hope to Patients looking to resume a Normal Healthy Diet Containing Gluten. more (PDF 120K) >
11 October 2012
Link Between Gluten and Immune Reaction Revealed for HLA-DQ8 Celiac Disease
A link between gluten and the immune system has literally been visualized in new research published today in a leading scientific journal, Immunity. The discovery is the collaborative work of research groups in Australia, the Netherlands and ImmusanT Inc. based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, led by Professor Jamie Rossjohn and Dr. Hugh Reid at Monash University, Dr. Bob Anderson of ImmusanT and Professor Frits Koning at the University of Leiden. Press Release Continued (PDF 120K) >
Complete Journal Article >
4 September 2012
ImmusanT Initiates Clinical Trials of Nexvax2 Therapeutic Vaccine for Celiac Disease
ImmusanT announced today that it has initiated clinical trials in New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. to evaluate Nexvax2®, the first therapeutic vaccine for patients with celiac disease. Nexvax2 is designed to re-establish patients’ tolerance to the toxic effects of gluten, a protein in wheat, barley and rye, and allow them to return to a normal diet. There are currently no approved medicines available for people with celiac disease, who must manage their condition by eliminating gluten-containing foods from their diet. more (PDF 120K) >
16 August 2012
ImmusanT Relocates Offices to State-of-the-Art Innovation Facility
ImmusanT, Inc. announced today that it has relocated its operations to One Kendall Square, a 676,000-square-foot, mixed-use campus in the heart of Cambridge. The facility allows ImmusanT to establish a state-of-the-art lab for conducting immunologic assays to support its development efforts and clinical trials in celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases. more (PDF 120K) >
10 April 2012
Cereal Offender
If ONE in every 100 Australians suffers coeliac disease, why have 10 times that number opted for a gluten-free diet? more (PDF 120K) >
26 March 2012
ImmusanT: Having their cake
ImmusanT Inc. is developing what could be the first treatment for celiac disease that allows patients to eat a normal diet. The company’s Nexvax2 vaccine seeks to reprogram CD4+ T cells to induce gluten tolerance. more (PDF 120K) >
19 March 2012
ImmusanT Names Patrick Griffin as Chief Medical Officer, Expands Management Team
ImmusanT announced today that Patrick H. Griffin, MD, has joined the biopharmaceutical company as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Development, and Michelle Hipwood joins as Director of Finance and Operations. more (PDF 120K) >
13 December 2011
ImmusanT Raises $20 Million in Series A Financing
ImmusanT, Inc. announced today it has raised $20 million in Series A financing from Vatera Healthcare Partners LLC to advance development of the biotechnology company’s immunotherapeutic vaccine Nexvax2®, companion diagnostic and monitoring tool for celiac disease. more (PDF 120K) >
13 December 2011
ImmusanT gets $20M Series A shot for celiac vaccine
Cambridge-based biotechnology company ImmusanT Inc. has raised a Series A round of funding, bringing in $20 million from Vatera Healthcare Partners LLC of New York to move forward its treatment for celiac disease. more (PDF 120K) >
03 December 2011
Australian media coverage of ImmusanT and Celiac Disease
27 October 2011 – Fierce Vaccine
10 Promising Therapeutic Vaccines
Scientists have long figured it should be possible to rev up the immune system on command, to give the body’s own natural defenses an extra surge of power to attack tumors and fight diseases. But decades of working on the challenge have seen many promising clinical trials of potential “immune modulators,” “immune stimulators” and “therapeutic vaccines” end in disappointment. more (PDF 120K) >
01 August 2011 - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Startup Pioneers Celiac Disease Remedy
ImmusanT’s Vaccine and Diagnostic Designed to Improve Upon Gluten-Free Diet Treatment
People with celiac disease are allergic to gluten, the main protein in wheat, rye, and barley, which causes a T-cell mediated inflammatory reaction that damages the lining of the small intestine. Researchers recently identified the immunotoxic peptides in gluten and established ImmusanT in Cambridge, MA, to advance a vaccine and diagnostic tools for the disease. more (PDF 120K) >
09 May 2011
ImmusanT Reports Positive Results from Nexvax2 Phase 1 Study in Celiac Disease Data Featured in Poster of Distinction and Symposia on Advances in Celiac Disease at Digestive Disease Week the next year.
ImmusanT, Inc. reported positive results from a Phase 1 study evaluating the safety, tolerability and bioactivity of Nexvax2® in patients with celiac disease. ImmusanT Chief Scientific and Medical Officer Dr. Bob Anderson presented results from the Nexvax2 Phase 1 study and led a symposium and session discussions about celiac disease at Digestive Disease Week in Chicago. more (PDF 120K) >
08 May 2011
Celiac disease vaccine shows promising results in Phase I trial
The world’s first potential vaccine for coeliac disease has shown promising results for treating coeliac disease in Phase I clinical trial and is expected to move to Phase II trials within the next year. more (PDF 120K) >
08 May 2011
Australian media coverage of the Nexvax2 Phase 1 study
23 March 2011 – BioWorld
ImmusanT Seeks to Restore Gluten Tolerance with Vaccine
Privately held ImmusanT Inc. has become the newest entrant in the wide-open race to find a drug therapy for the inherited autoimmune disorder celiac disease. The company established operations this month in Cambridge, Mass., with the goal of developing an immunotherapeutic vaccine, companion diagnostic and monitoring tool for celiac disease. more (PDF 120K) >
15 March 2011
Start-Up ImmusanT Seeks to Restore Tolerance to Gluten in Celiac Disease with Immunotherapy
Biotechnology company ImmusanT, Inc. today announced it has established its operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is advancing its strategy to develop an immunotherapeutic vaccine, companion diagnostic and monitoring tool for celiac disease. The company completed the acquisition of a discovery platform for targeted immunotherapies from Nexpep Pty., Ltd., based in Melbourne, Australia, and secured seed financing from angel investors to advance its product pipeline to address the rapidly escalating number of patients diagnosed with celiac disease. more (PDF 120K) >