VirTus Respiratory Research Supports Development of Apollo Therapeutics’ APL-10456 from Preclinical Proof of Concept to Positive Phase 1 Data
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VirTus Respiratory Research has played a key role in advancing Apollo Therapeutics' APL-10456, a novel rhinovirus vaccine designed to prevent exacerbations in COPD and asthma, which recently produced strong Phase 1 clinical data.
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VirTus Respiratory Research Ltd, a specialist respiratory contract research organisation (CRO), founded by Imperial College London investigators Professor Sebastian Johnston and Dr Michael Edwards, today highlighted its role in the preclinical development of Apollo Therapeutics’ and Imperial’s APL-10456, following the announcement of positive initial data from the vaccine’s Phase 1 clinical trial.
VirTus has worked on the APL-10456 programme for more than five years, conducting more than 20 preclinical studies to support the selection, development and progression of the candidate, testing the cross-species immunogenicity and efficacy. This work included evaluating the efficacy of several vaccine candidates in mouse models of rhinovirus infection, helping to select APL-10456 and establish early proof of concept and generating preclinical evidence that informed its progression into first-in-human clinical development.
APL-10456 is a first-in-class, adjuvanted recombinant protein subunit vaccine designed to prevent rhinovirus-driven exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Developing a broadly protective rhinovirus vaccine has historically been challenging because of the approximately 180 genetically distinct rhinovirus strains across three species – RV-A, RV-B and RV-C.
Apollo has announced that enrolment and dosing in the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study of APL-10456, involving 144 healthy participants, has completed. Initial data from Part A of the study showed that a single dose was well tolerated and highly immunogenic, inducing seroconversion and Th1-polarised, cross-reactive cellular immune responses against all three rhinovirus species.
These first-in-human findings are consistent with previously reported preclinical data demonstrating broad cross-strain immunity and rapid clearance of heterotypic rhinovirus, and represent an important milestone in the translation of the APL-10456 programme from preclinical research into clinical development.
Professor Sebastian Johnston, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of VirTus Respiratory Research, and Professor of Respiratory Medicine & Allergy at Imperial College London’s National Heart and Lung Institute, said: “Rhinovirus infections have remained an elusive target for vaccine development due to the ~180 antigenically different strains, despite the substantial burden they place on people with asthma and COPD. After our pivotal preclinical studies at VirTus, it is hugely encouraging to see APL-10456 now generating promising clinical data in man, and we are proud to have contributed to the programme’s development. This is exactly the kind of translational research we set VirTus up to support.”
The progression of APL-10456 demonstrates VirTus’s ability to support respiratory drug and vaccine development from early preclinical studies, to proof of concept, using specialist models of respiratory viral infection to help evaluate promising therapeutic approaches before they enter human studies.
