HerVac® Breast Cancer Vaccines
HerVac®, developed by BioLife Science, is a breast cancer vaccine based on the cell surface receptor HER-2, which ist overexpressed in a significant proportion of breast cancers.
As tumor antigens like HER-2 are self antigens, it is impossible to use the unmodified protein for vaccination. Therefore we selected short peptides derived from the HER-2 sequence and coupled them to foreign proteins which are known to elicit an efficient immune response. A patent covering this concept is pending.
Development of HerVac®
From the known amino acid sequence of the HER-2 extracellular domain potentially
antigenic peptides located on the surface of the protein are selected and
chemically synthesized.
The peptides are coupled to an immunogenic protein.
These conjugates are tested by injecting them into mice, which then produce HER-2
specific antibodies. The mouse sera are further tested for their specificity and
their potential to inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells and to mediate cytotoxicity.
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