Lorantis Ltd and PowderJect Pharmaceuticals Plc announced progress in their collaboration to develop a novel, selective treatment for allergy. The collaboration combines therapeutics based on Notch, a cell surface protein that is able to switch off an immune response to a specific allergen, thereby treating allergic reactions at their root cause, with PowderJect's needle free, particle-mediated delivery technology. Preclinical studies have been initiated to optimise treatment protocols for development of a clinical candidate.

"The ability to selectively control the immune response with Notch has the potential to significantly improve the lives of allergy patients, without the side effects of current therapies, by treating the cause of the allergy rather than the symptoms," stated Dr. Mark Bodmer, CEO of Lorantis. "PowderJect was the obvious choice for this collaboration as its delivery technology offers the most effective way of reaching antigen presenting cells in the skin, which is the best place in the body to re-direct the immune response."

Lorantis' approach involves re-directing the immune response by inducing antigen specific regulatory T-cells. This is achieved by presenting an antigen to the immune system in the presence of a Notch stimulator. In addition to switching off the allergic response, the body learns to tolerate the antigen so that future contact does not result in an allergic response being mounted. Initial preclinical studies have shown that treatment with a Notch stimulator/dust mite antigen combination delivered by PowderJect's technology results in a significant modification of the immune response.

PowderJect's technology focus is on the needle-free powder injection of vaccines, a field in which it leads the world. The company is developing a broad range of vaccines based upon this proprietary delivery technology. PowderJect is also the world leader in the field of DNA vaccines, a revolutionary new method of vaccination that offers the potential to protect against and treat diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV.