Immune-Based Therapies

There are generally two basic kinds of therapy for illness: therapies that directly attack pathogens (germs, viruses, bacteria, etc.) and therapies that help the body's natural defenses do a better job of eliminating pathogens. Sometimes both types of therapy are used to compensate or deal with the damage done by the pathogens rather than focus on eliminating the pathogen or the condition itself.

Immune based therapies are various methods used to boost the immune system's ability to fight illnesses. As a group, immune-based therapies are in very early stages of development. They include preventive and therapeutic vaccines, therapies involving chemicals produced by the immune system, and several other types.

The oldest and best known immune-based therapies are preventive vaccines that teach the body how to fight viral infections. FDA-approved preventive vaccines are used to protect people from diseases such as polio, smallpox, the flu, hepatitis A and B, mumps, and measles. There are many hopeful vaccines for various kinds of cancer, herpes and HIV being tested.

To date, no immune-based therapies for HIV/AIDS have been approved but many compounds have been studied. Both therapeutic and preventive vaccines have been tested with varying but limited degrees of success.

VGV-1 is an apparent immune-based therapy that has demonstrated an antiviral effect in pilot studies. We are working to understand VGV-1’s effect on the immune system and to understand the effect it appears to have on the levels of HIV virus in the blood. The technology we licensed recently from the University of Colorado appears to have the potential to answer these questions.

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Immune-Based Therapies FAQ

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