Pfizer Inc has informed Cytos Biotechnology Ltd that the first patient has been dosed in a phase 1 clinical trial with an anti-IgE vaccine, which is being developed under a license agreement between both companies Pfizer’s anti-IgE vaccine is based on Cytos’ VLP (virus-like-particle) vaccine platform.

Christian Itin, chairman and CEO of Cytos, comments: “We are very pleased that Pfizer has advanced its anti-IgE vaccine to a phase 1 clinical trial. This is an important milestone for  the programme and provides further evidence of the potential of Cytos’ B-cell vaccine platform based on Q beta-derived virus like particles.”

Pfizer acquired world-wide exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize certain specified vaccines based on Cytos’ VLP platform in 2009.

Cytos is a public biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted  immunotherapies. The company’s lead product candidate CYT003 is a first-in-class biologic in phase 2 clinical development as a potential new treatment for allergic asthma. CYT003 acts via a novel, allergen-independent mechanism of action to selectively suppress the body’s immune response to allergens, a predominant risk factor for asthma. In a successfully completed phase 2a study, CYT003 was shown to maintain asthma control and lung function and asthma control in patients with persistent allergic asthma, even as standard inhaled corticosteroid treatment was  withdrawn. CYT003 has been shown to be safe in over 450 patients.