Eurocine Vaccines AB has decided to evaluate a diagnostic test of chlamydia antibodies in blood as an extension of its portfolio and has widened the license agreement with Spixia Biotechnology AB to also include diagnostic tests of chlamydia.
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted bacterial disease that often leads to involuntary infertility in women (read more). There is currently no prophylactic vaccine against chlamydia on the market and Eurocine Vaccines is developing a vaccine candidate based on a patented protein (read more). At the same time, there is a need for better diagnostic tests in both Europe and the United States, to investigate if patients have or have undergone the disease and carry antibodies (Woodhall et al., Lancet Infect Dis 2018). According to our market analysis, such an improved test could be widely used for studies focusing on public health, for example to understand what proportion of the population has had chlamydia infection (so-called seroepidemiological studies), and to understand if previous chlamydia infection can be the cause of infertility. Therefore, Eurocine Vaccines has widened the license agreement with Spixia Biotechnology to also include a diagnostic test of chlamydia in order to evaluate it as an extension of its portfolio.
Through the ongoing work to develop the manufacturing process for the active protein in the chlamydia vaccine candidate, which will primarily be used in further preclinical and clinical studies in the ongoing vaccine development, the company sees the opportunity for an additional application. The same protein can be the used for both the prophylactic vaccine and a diagnostic test of antibodies against chlamydia. This provides significant synergies in the form of documentation, process development, and protein manufacture, creating the opportunity for more products based on the same research and development.
In the next step, initial experiments will be performed to evaluate a diagnostic test based on the active protein and how a future diagnostic product can best be designed. These trials are expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2022.
“It is completely in line with our strategy to actively seek additional opportunities to innovatively create added value based on our investments. Although the market potential is smaller for a diagnostic tool than for a vaccine, it is all about how to best contribute to modern healthcare based on our research and development”, comments Dr. Karl Ljungberg, Director of preclinical development.
