Vaccines, Cancer Therapeutics and Diagnostics
The VLPVAC Team (Vaccines, Cancer Therapeutics and Diagnostics) has developed a novel technology for delivering vaccine antigens on virus-like particles, which is employed in a COVID-19 vaccine currently undergoing clinical phase 3 testing. The team is developing vaccines against both infectious and chronic diseases, incl. cancer.
With the aim of improving human health, our research focuses on novel platform technologies that can lead to development of effective vaccines against both infectious and non-infectious diseases.
- Development of protein capsid-based virus-like particle (cVLP) vaccines against chronic as well as infectious diseases.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen
- Clinical development of a capsid virus-like particle (cVLP) based COVID-19 vaccine. vaccine.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen, Morten Agertoug Nielsen, Ali Salanti.
- Clinical development of a capsid virus-like particle (cVLP) based placental malaria vaccine.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen, Morten Agertoug Nielsen
- Development of a modular DNA/mRNA-launched nanoparticle vaccine platform.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen
- Preclinical development of a capsid virus-like particle (cVLP) based universal influenza vaccine.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen
- Preclinical development of a capsid virus-like particle (cVLP) based Gonorrhea vaccine.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen
Preclinical development of a capsid virus-like particle (cVLP) based universal influenza vaccine.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen
- Modulation of B-cell immunodominance by tailored antigen-display.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen
VLP antigen display for Investigation of mechanisms determining antibody durability.
Contact: Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen
National collaborations
- Niels Lorenzen, National Institute of Aquatic Resources Section for Fish and Shellfish Diseases, Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
- Charlotte Menne Bonefeld, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Skin Immunology Research Center, University of Copenhagen.
- Daniel Otzen, Nanoscience Center (iNANO)/Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics Aarhus University (Parkinson research).
- Søren Riis Paludan, Institut for Biomedicin, Aarhus University (COVID-19 vaccine).
- Frank Follman and Gabriel K- Pedersen, Statens serum institute (SSI) (mRNA vaccines).
- Jens Bukh, CoHEP, ISIM, University of Copenhagen (HCV vaccine).
- Jan Pravsgaard, ISIM, University of Copenhagen (Influenza vaccine).
- John Elmerdahl Olsen, Institut for Veterinær- og Husdyrvidenskab, UCPH (Vaccines to prevent post-weaning diarrhea in piglets).
- SEGES Innovation P/S, Karl Pedersen (Vaccines to prevent post-weaning diarrhea in piglets).
- Expres2ion Biotechnologies, Denmark (S2 protein expression)
- Camilla Foged, Department of Pharmacy, UCPH (mRNA vaccine formulation).
International collaborations
- Lena Uller, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Sweden.
- Aleksandra Sikora, Oregon State University, USA (Gonorrhea vaccine).
- Pier-Liogi Lollini, Bologna University, Italy (HER2 cancer vaccine).
- Robert Danels, Division of Viral Products, FDA, USA (Universal Flu vaccine)
- Benjamin Mordmüller, Radboud UMC university medical centre, Netherlands (clinical test of viral cVLP vaccine)
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany (BSL4 facility testing viral cVLP vaccine).
Funding
- COVID19 vaccine Prevent-nCoV. Total budget EUR 3.4M: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101003608
- HER2 cancer vaccine. Total budget EUR 1.1M
- Vaccines to prevent post-weaning diarrhoea in pigs. Total budget EUR 2M
- NanoZoo iCRAD, H2020. Total budget EUR 1.35M
- Lundbeck foundation, CytoPad, for research into Parkinson's disease. Total budget EUR 1.3M
- Novo Nordisk Foundation mRNA vaccine grant. Total budget of DKK 12M.
- NIH R01 Grant for developing a gonorrhea vaccine. Total budget of USD 3,6M.
The VLPVAC Team has invented a versatile and effective vaccine platform that can deliver any protein antigen in a particulate and multivalent virus-like particle (VLP) format.
In the seminal paper from 2016 (Thrane S et al. J Nanobiotechnology, 2016) and in >30 follow-up papers, the versatility and preclinical efficacy of the vaccine platform has been firmly documented.
The technology has also been investigated for the development of vaccines against non-infectious diseases, incl. cancer and allergy, which has revealed a unique ability of the technology for overcoming B-cell tolerance.
Finally, the technology was recently used to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. In both preclinical (mouse and NHP) and human clinical (phase I-III) studies this vaccine has generated best-in-class immunogenicity and safety data, incl. durable antibody responses up to 12 months after immunization (Bavarian Nordic Reports 12-Month Durability Data from a (globenewswire.com))
In 2017, Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen and colleagues founded the spinout company, AdaptVac, which so far has made two license agreements and have two cVLP vaccines in clinical testing.
Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen is the main inventor on multiple (>20) patent applications covering five patent families.
In 2021, AdaptVac won the Ernst & Young 'Entrepreneur of The Year' and Adam Frederik Sander Bertelsen and the VLP vaccine team was nominated for the University of Copenhagen’s Innovation Award.
Contact
Adam F. Sander Bertelsen
Professor
Email
