MTbuVax

Vaxil used its VaxHit technology to identify MTbuVax, a new class of synthetic T cell subunit vaccine against the pathogenic bacteria Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Mtb). The vaccine contains a large antigenic repertoire from few high-quality targets, some of which are known antigens and others of which have been identified for this purpose using our technology.

MTbuVax harbors a set of unique characteristics:

> Novel unexplored sequence: unlike other tuberculosis vaccines, which focus on an entire protein or bacteria, MTbuVax contains novel sequences derived from known and novel high quality TB-antigens.

> Improved immunogenicity:
a. each one of MTbuVax candidate multi-epitope peptides was selected due to its ability to bind multiple MHC Class I and Class II alleles enabling a robust combined antigen specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell response.
b. MTbuVax peptides were selected to induce a positive response in different geographic territories around the world e.g. covering over 50% of the allelic repertoire among the Caucasian, SW Asian and Sub-Sahara African populations.

> TAP-independent presentation: like every other VaxHit-derived vaccine candidate, mTbuVax contains TAP-independent machinery for transporting its epitope into the ER and can therefore efficiently deal with immune escape mechanism mediated by the pathogenic bacteria

MTbuVax has already proved itself to have superior effectiveness in tests carried out in Israel on a large pool of blood samples from naive individuals and patients with active Mtb. The immune response induced by MTbuVax candidates was far stronger and broader when compared to the immunity manifested by known Mtb epitopes. The product is currently being tested for efficacy in animal models.

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