QIMR Berghofer spin-out company Ebivanta Therapeutics has been awarded funding to accelerate development of its next generation mRNA vaccine candidate for Epstein-Barr virus which could prevent glandular fever and EBV-related cancers and diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
Ebivanta Therapeutics will receive $1.5 million plus commercialisation support from Biointelect Venturer, a national biotech incubator backed by the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), to prepare the vaccine for clinical trial over the next two years.
Ebivanta Therapeutics co-founder and Chief Scientific Strategist Professor Rajiv Khanna AO, who also leads QIMR Berghofer’s Tumour Immunology Laboratory, said that being selected for Biointelect Venturer’s inaugural incubation program is an exciting opportunity.
“The funding and support we’ll receive from Biointelect Venturer is crucial to help us make the difficult leap from early-stage project to securing the commercial investment needed to progress our EBV vaccine candidate to clinical trial and to market,” said Professor Khanna.
EBV is a very common virus carried by around 95 per cent of the population worldwide. Most are infected in early childhood and experience mild symptoms.
However, if a person is first infected as an adolescent, the virus can cause glandular fever, an acute infection that is also known as infectious mononucleosis or “mono”. This is a major risk factor for several cancers such as Hodgkin lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and autoimmune diseases including lupus.
The most definitive link is to multiple sclerosis (MS), an incurable neurological disease where the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the protective coating around the nerves causing debilitating symptoms.
“I’ve worked in this field for many years and seen many patients impacted by multiple sclerosis in particular. Our goal is to deliver a vaccine that prevents glandular fever and leads to a long-term benefit of preventing EBV-associated cancers and diseases like MS,” said Professor Khanna.
There have been many unsuccessful attempts globally to develop an EBV vaccine over the decades.
The vaccine candidate developed by Professor Khanna and his team has an innovative dual-targeted approach. Research published in 2023 found it produced potent and durable immune protection against EBV in preclinical models.
Dr Vijayendra Dasari, Ebivanta Therapeutics co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer and a vaccine development scientist in QIMR Berghofer’s Tumour Immunology Laboratory, said the team have made further improvements to the vaccine to incorporate recent advances in mRNA technology.
“Our vaccine formulation is unique because it targets the virus where it’s hiding inside the immune B cells, as well as attacking it from outside of the cell. It induces both killer T cell and antibody immune responses. Combined with the mRNA-based delivery technology, our next generation vaccine is showing an even more powerful immune response in laboratory studies,” said Dr Dasari.
The ultimate goal is for the EBV vaccine to be included in national immunisation programs for adolescents between the ages of nine to 15 years old, similar to the National HPV Vaccination Program that protects against the human papillomavirus which can cause cervical cancer.
Rohan Greenland, CEO of MS Australia said: "This research gives real hope. We know EBV is strongly linked to developing MS, and the prospect of an EBV vaccine one day helping to prevent MS is enormously significant.
“Professor Rajiv Khanna, who co-chairs MS Australia's EBV and MS National Collaborative Research Platform, is at the forefront of this field. It's deeply encouraging to see this investment helping advance his team's research."
The Biointelect Venturer funding and support will allow the researchers to carry out the preclinical optimisation work to prepare the vaccine for clinical trial, and complete scientific, regulatory and commercial requirements. The biotech incubation program will help them to build industry and investor connections with the aim of attracting the critical commercial co-investment needed to progress the vaccine to the public and patients.
To find out more about Ebivanta Therapeutics, visit www.ebivanta.com
QIMR Berghofer has been at the forefront of EBV research for nearly 60 years, and those discoveries have paved the way for the remarkable research that continues today.