Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Friday, November 05 2021 - 01:22
AsiaNet
EpiVax licenses Tregitope Technology to Maruho Co., Ltd. for development of Tregitope-based Therapies to Treat Autoimmune Condition
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

EpiVax, Inc. ("EpiVax") is pleased to announce an important commercial 
licensing agreement with Maruho Co., Ltd. ("Maruho") for EpiVax's patented 
Tregitope technology. This marks an exciting step for Maruho and EpiVax towards 
continued expansion of the Tregitope program and translation to the clinic.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/542055/EpiVax_Logo.jpg 

Tregitopes are immune-modulating peptides derived from human immunoglobulin. 
Tregitopes were first discovered in 2008 ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3346544-1&h=3426623653&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC2569179%2F&a=discovered+in+2008 
) by EpiVax co-founders Dr. Anne De Groot and William Martin. EpiVax has since 
validated many more Tregitopes and has developed a strong Tregitope patent 
estate. With a wide range of therapeutic applications, Tregitopes can be 
co-formulated or fused to proteins to induce antigen-specific tolerance. EpiVax 
is currently licensing Tregitope for additional indications with commercial and 
academic partners. More information on the EpiVax Tregitope Platform is 
available here ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3346544-1&h=792489206&u=https%3A%2F%2Fepivax.com%2Fpipeline%2Ftregitope-immunomodulation-power-tool&a=More+information+on+the+EpiVax+Tregitope+Platform+is+available+here. 
).

Similar to intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) therapy, Tregitopes engage 
regulatory T cells and downregulate inflammation in a wide range of disease 
models. This mechanism of action has been studied in academic collaborations at 
McGill University ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3346544-1&h=1768424607&u=https%3A%2F%2Fepivax.com%2Fnews%2Fepivax-demonstrates-antigen-specific-tolerance-induction-in-allergy-with-tregitopes-results-published-in-frontiers-in-immunology&a=McGill+University 
), Harvard Medical School ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3346544-1&h=3296300342&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0198885914004777%3Fvia%253Dihub&a=Harvard+Medical+School 
), and undisclosed commercial partners ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3346544-1&h=3057201898&u=https%3A%2F%2Fepivax.com%2Ffeatured%2Ftregitope-takes-a-step-toward-the-clinic&a=undisclosed+commercial+partners 
). There have been many peer-reviewed publications on the Tregitope platform in 
recent years. A full list can be found here ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3346544-1&h=1208391680&u=https%3A%2F%2Fepivax.com%2Fpipeline%2Ftregitope-immunomodulation-power-tool%2Ftregitope-publications&a=A+full+list+can+be+found+here 
). 

Maruho will be able to leverage their Tregitope license to enhance their 
in-house therapeutic development strategies for autoimmune conditions. Annie De 
Groot MD, CEO/CSO of EpiVax, said, "This agreement reflects the potential for 
Tregitopes, natural Treg epitopes that help regulate immune responses, to be 
used for the treatment of conditions that afflict patients around the world".

About EpiVax: 
EpiVax is a biotechnology company with expertise in T cell epitope prediction, 
immune modulation, and rapid vaccine design. EpiVax's immunogenicity screening 
toolkits for therapeutics and vaccines, ISPRI and iVAX, are employed in 
advancing the research of a global roster of companies. 
For more information about EpiVax, visit www.epivax.com.

About Maruho Co., Ltd.:
Maruho Co., Ltd. has its headquarters in Osaka and leads Japan in research and 
development, manufacturing and commercialization of dermatological products. 
Maruho is striving to improve the health and quality of life of people all over 
the world.
For more information, please visit https://www.maruho.co.jp/english/ 

For more information on Tregitope and licensing opportunities please contact us 
here (https://epivax.com/about-us/contact-us).

Press Contact:
Katie Porter, Business Development Manager
EpiVax
kporter@epivax.com

SOURCE: EpiVax Inc.
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