Research

The human immune system has evolved to recognize viral structures as foreign and dangerous. Vaccines that mimic these viral structures can induce potent immune responses resulting in protection against disease. Certain viruses have been found to cause specific cancers, such as hepatic and cervical carcinoma, although at this time no vaccines have been demonstrated to be truly therapeutic for these cancers.

Virionis is developing virus-like particles (VLPs), three-dimensional, 40-60 nanometer-sized protein particles made of viral structural proteins produced by recombinant DNA technology that self-assemble into natural, virus-sized particles. VLPs mimic live virus in size, exterior structure and protein composition. However, VLPs do not have the ability to replicate, as do natural viruses, since they do not contain pathogenic viral genes. VLPs are completely safe to humans and non-infectious, but highly effective in generating cellular and humoral immune responses to antigens presented in a three-dimensional, multi-antigen, virus-like nanoparticle