Development of expression platforms for antigens for vaccine candidates and diagnostic tools

The need for more vaccines and more cost efficient production platforms has led us into the development of prototype vaccines expressed in various alternative expression systems. We have a number of different expression models for proteins including recombinant bacteria (E. coli, lactobacilli), yeast, insect cells and plants (A. thaliana, tobacco, carrot). The antigens include HIV gag, Chlamydia trachomatis MOMP, a collagen construct tolerogenic against rheumatoid arthritis, Hemofilus influenzae type B, Rift Valley Fever virus etc. The Chlamydia trachomatis MOMP antigen has been granted patent in the USA and China (applications pending in India and the European Union). Some of these vaccine candidates have been pilot tested in mice with promising results. The Chlamydia trachomatis construct has been developed for intranasal immunization. All plant constructs have been given fresh for oral feeding with promising immunogenic (or tolerogenic) capacity.