Hepavaxx B
Product Overview
HepaVaxx B is a Chimigen™ therapeutic vaccine developed at the ViRexx research labs for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B viral infections.
HepaVaxx B consists of a recombinant chimeric molecule containing the elements of both a hepatitis B viral antigen and a xenotypic antibody. The molecule is designed to target a particular set of cells that play a dominant role in the body's immune system. Validation of the uptake, processing and activation of the cells responsible for modulating the immune response was conducted by ViRexx using specialized assay systems developed by ViRexx. The selected Chimigen™ vaccine is expressed in insect cells which produce the desired product in large quantities under appropriate culture conditions.
Market Overview
The market for ViRexx's HepaVaxx B is global.
| Globally | US | |
| Prevalence | 350 million | 1.25 million |
| Target Market | Not Available | 78,000 |
Source: Center for Disease Control Hepatitis B Fact Sheet (2003)
Source: World Health Organization
Hepatitis B is one of the major diseases of mankind and is a serious global public health problem. The World Health Organization estimates that one out of every three people have been infected with HBV of which approximately 350 million have developed a chronic HBV infection. These chronically infected persons are at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer, diseases that lead to about one million HBV related deaths each year. On average, 15% to 25% of chronically infected persons die from chronic liver disease.
In the US , one out of every twenty people has been infected by HBV with new chronic infections falling from approximately 260,000 each year in the 1980s to approximately 78,000 in 2001. This decrease is largely due to the increase in the availability of preventative vaccines and improved blood screening processes. HBV is responsible for 5,000 deaths annually in the US and results in annual health care and other costs that are estimated to be US$700 million.
Three to five percent of adults and 90% of infants infected with HBV become chronic carriers and between 15% and 25% of these carriers develop cirrhosis and/or liver cancer, making HBV a leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma. (Source: World Health Organization Fact Sheet WHO/204 October 2000 and Fields Virology (2000) Volumes I and II (Fourth Edition).)