Vaccine development is currently undergoing a revolution as new technologies have emerged that have the potential to change the way we design and create vaccines. One such revolutionary technology is reverse vaccinology, an immunoinformatics workflow that can help vaccine developers find the right epitopes and antigens for their vaccines.
Reverse vaccinology is a cutting-edge technique that uses genomics, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence to predict which parts of a pathogen will be most effective in a vaccine. It leverages the vast amount of biodata generated in recent decades, allowing for a more rational and targeted approach to vaccine development, potentially leading to more successful vaccines.
The name comes from the fact that the process of vaccine discovery starts in silico using the genetic information of the pathogen, rather than starting from the cultured pathogen itself. The practice was pioneered by Rino Rappuoli and first used for the development of a vaccine against Serogroup B meningococcus.
Historically, vaccine design has not always been purely rational or based on a thorough understanding of disease biology. Many vaccines have been developed through a trial and error approach, with a large pool of candidates tested in vitro to screen for the most effective ones. This approach can be time-consuming, costly, and not always lead to the most effective vaccines.
Reverse vaccinology can address these problems and provide a number of other benefits complementary to traditional vaccine development methods:
🚀 Increased efficiency
A more targeted and rational approach to vaccine development, leading to a faster and more efficient development process.
📈 Improved vaccine effectiveness
By using reverse vaccinology to select the most promising targets for a vaccine, it’s possible to create vaccines that are more effective at eliciting the desired immune response.
💰 Reduced costs
The more targeted and efficient approach of reverse vaccinology can also lead to reduced costs compared to traditional vaccine development methods.
🧬 Enhanced understanding of disease biology
By diving into pathogen biology, reverse vaccinology can also provide a deeper understanding of disease biology.
Here are a few reasons on why you should choose ImmuneWatch DESIGN:
💡 ImmuneWatch DESIGN goes above and beyond
Most reverse vaccinology pipelines output a list of all epitopes/antigens presented by peptide-MHC complexes. However, not all immunogenic peptides can be presented, and not all presented peptides are immunogenic. At ImmuneWatch we have developed AI-tools (patent pending) that take this one step further, providing insights into the prevalence of T cells that can potentially bind the peptide-MHC complexes.
🔍 Expertise in T cell responses
We specialize in T cells and T cell responses. If you’re looking for a vaccine that induces cellular immunity, we’re the perfect choice.
🔬 Built by immunoinformaticians
Our core team has a background in both immunology and bioinformatics. We prefer explainable AI over black box AI, and make design choices guided by biology. As a university spinoff, we take scientific rigor seriously.
🔧 Flexible by design
Are antibody responses more important to you? You want to check how conserved the predicted epitopes are across species? Only interested in HLA Class I epitopes? Is it important that the suggested epitopes are not similar to self-peptides? We understand that every project is unique, and we’re able to customize our approach to meet your specific needs.
With ImmuneWatch DESIGN, you can rest assured that you’re getting a top-of-the-line reverse vaccinology pipeline that’s tailored to your specific needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you develop a successful vaccine.
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