Peptide Vaccines in Canine Veterinary Medicine

Several peptide vaccine therapies are being studied in dogs. Much like in humans, cancer is often devastating in canines and other domesticated animals. In a number of cancers, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) proteins are overexpressed and stimulate cancer cell growth in both canines and humans. Moreover, current monoclonal antibody therapies fail to produce long-lasting immunity. A new cancer immunotherapy for dogs is being developed by researchers at Yale University and is being evaluated in a study led by Therajan LLC. The EGFR/HER2 vaccine stimulates the production of anti-EGFR/HER2 antibodies which suppress EGFR/HER2 protein overexpression, resulting in decreased cancer cell growth. In addition, the vaccine holds promise when used in conjunction with other forms of cancer therapy including radiation, chemotherapy, or checkpoint inhibition. Of 300 dogs being tested, their survival rate was found to double from 35% to 65% when given the vaccine. ^1,2,3

In another cancer vaccine, frameshift peptides are being used in a preventative vaccine for dogs by Calviri, Inc. In uncontrolled, rapid tumor cell growth, there are often several errors in RNA transcription. These coding errors generate frameshift peptides. This cancer vaccine uses these frameshift peptides, which are tumor-specific neoantigens, as immunization against these cancers since they are strongly recognized by the immune system.^4,5

Another conceptualized peptide vaccine is one against a newer strain of canine distemper virus (CDV). Canine distemper (CD) is highly contagious and causes respiratory, digestive, skin, and neurological symptoms in dogs and other mammals. While distemper vaccines exist, they were developed against an ancestral strain which no longer circulates, therefore an updated vaccine is needed. In theory, a vaccine comprised of single CDV peptides and multiepitope CDV polypeptides may be effective in preventing CDV infection in domestic and wild animals.⁶

References

Doyle HA, et al. Vaccine-induced ErbB (EGFR/HER2)-specific immunity in spontaneous canine cancer. Transl Oncol. 2021 Nov;14(11):101205. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101205. Epub 2021 Aug 19. PMID: 34419682; PMCID: PMC8379704. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8379704/
EGFR/HER2 Vaccine Study Status. (30 October 2024). Canine Cancer Alliance. Retrieved from https://www.ccralliance.org/yale-status
Uribe ML, Marrocco I, Yarden Y. EGFR in Cancer: Signaling Mechanisms, Drugs, and Acquired Resistance. Cancers. 2021; 13(11):2748. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13112748 . https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/11/2748
Our Science. (4 November 2024). Calviri. Retrieved from https://www.calviri.com/our-science
Jenna H. Burton, et al, Design of a randomized, placebo-controlled study evaluating efficacy and safety of a cancer preventative vaccine in dogs, Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 2024, 267: 110691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetimm.2023.110691.
Rendon-Marin S, Ruíz-Saenz J. Universal peptide-based potential vaccine design against canine distemper virus (CDV) using a vaccinomic approach. Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 18;14(1):16605. https://doi.org 10.1038/s41598-024-67781-5. PMID: 39026076; PMCID: PMC11258135. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11258135/

AmbioPharm is a global peptide CDMO founded in 2005 and headquartered in North Augusta, South Carolina, USA specializing in developing highly efficient manufacturing processes for peptide-based Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) at small to very large scales. In our manufacturing facilities in South Carolina, USA and Shanghai, China, we manufacture New Chemical Entities (NCEs) under cGMP for clients worldwide. Both facilities have been inspected multiple times by the FDA with excellent outcomes.