We are excited to announce that RenBio’s Dr. Rachel A. Liberatore will be attending and presenting at the upcoming Vaccines Summit 2023 in Boston, scheduled for November 13-15. Her presentation, titled “DNA-based delivery of antiviral antibodies for infectious disease prevention,” promises to shed light on innovative approaches to enhance our battle against infectious diseases.
Presentation Abstract:
The importance of vaccines for public health cannot be overstated. However, there are two areas in infectious disease prevention that still pose challenges for vaccine use and effectiveness: rapid responses to emerging infectious diseases and protecting immunocompromised populations.
While vaccines are invaluable in preventing infectious diseases, there are obstacles to their rapid development and deployment during outbreaks of novel pathogens. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the potential for swift vaccine development, but we must prepare for future pathogens where pre existing research may not offer such a head start. The development of a vaccine can take several years, which may not be compatible with halting a novel infectious disease outbreak. In contrast, identifying and characterizing antiviral antibodies has made significant progress in recent years, allowing for rapid screening and selection of potential clinical candidates.
In Dr. Liberatore’s presentation, she explores the possibility of delivering these antibodies as DNA, rather than traditional recombinant proteins. Plasmid DNA, the starting material for manufacturing antibodies, can be administered directly to patients using intramuscular electroporation. This approach turns an individual’s muscle cells into bioreactors, durably delivering the encoded antibody to systemic circulation.
For diseases with effective vaccines, there are still individuals with compromised immune systems who can’t fully benefit from vaccination. Delivering antiviral antibodies in DNA form has the potential to offer long-lasting protection, transforming months of recombinant protein protection into a year or more from a single administration.
While vaccines remain a cornerstone of public health, the DNA-based delivery of antiviral antibodies has the potential to bridge gaps in rapid responses to novel viral outbreaks and offer robust protection to immunocompromised populations.
We will be attaching the full abstract of Dr. Liberatore’s presentation to this post so that you can delve deeper into this groundbreaking research. Join us at the Vaccines Summit 2023 to be part of this vital conversation on the future of infectious disease prevention.
Stay tuned for updates from the Vaccines Summit, where we’ll share insights from Dr. Liberatore’s presentation and other groundbreaking research in the field of infectious disease prevention.