ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant for antigen delivery

The immunostimulating complex, referred to as 'iscom', was first described by Morein et al. in 1984 as a novel structure for antigenic presentation of membrane proteins from enveloped viruses with potent immunomodulatory capability [B. Morein, B. Sundquist, S. Hoglund, K. Dalsgaard, A. Osterhaus. Iscom, a novel structure for antigenic presentation of membrane proteins from enveloped viruses. Nature 308 (1984) 457-460.]. Since this discovery, many vaccines have been tested in animal models showing the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses [A. Sjolander, J.C. Cox, L.G. Barr. ISCOMs: an adjuvant with multiple functions, J. Leukoc. Biol. 64 (1998) 713-723.]. The ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant is essentially the same structure as the iscom but without the incorporated antigen [G.F. Rimmelzwaan, A.D.M.E. Osterhaus. A novel generation of viral vaccines based on ISCOM matrix, in: M.F. Powell, M.J. Newman (Eds.). Vaccine Design, the Subunit and Adjuvant Approach, Plenum, New York, 1995 pp. 543-558.]. Antigens can be formulated with the ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant to produce ISCOMATRIX® vaccines that can provide the same antigen presentation and immunomodulatory properties as the iscom but with much broader application as they are not limited to hydrophobic membrane proteins. Various ISCOMATRIX® vaccines have been tested in animal models and more recently in human clinical trials [G. Kersten, D. Drane, M. Pearse, W. Jiskoot, A. Coulter. Liposomes and ISCOMs, in: Novel Vaccination Strategies, 2003 pp. 173-196.]. These studies have shown that the ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant is safe and induces both humoral and cellular immune responses. The ability of the ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant to induce these broad immune responses is due to the combination of antigen presentation by both MHC class I and class II pathways, and the powerful immunomodulatory capability of the saponin. Additionally, the ISCOMATRIX® adjuvant is simple to manufacture and can be combined with a wide range of antigens making it suitable for the development of novel human vaccines.