WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Selecta Biosciences, Inc. was named by FierceBiotech today as one of 2011’s Fierce 15, designating it as one of the most promising private biotechnology companies in the industry.
“Selecta’s synthetic nanoparticle vaccine platform is the brainchild of some of the leading scientists in the Boston area, offering a completely new vision for how vaccines could be produced and used in the future,” says John Carroll, editor-in-chief of FierceBiotech. “Backed by some committed venture groups and now teaming up on some innovative programs, Selecta is promising a quick look at proof of concept data on a breakthrough approach to infectious diseases as well as autoimmune diseases and cancer.”
“In the current changing environment, with complex challenges in areas such as the fragile world economy and evolving health care cost and regulations, it is more critical than ever to act with courage and pioneer the way new medicines are developed,” said Werner Cautreels, Ph.D., President and CEO of Selecta Biosciences. “At Selecta, we have unique and novel immune technologies with the potential to make a real difference for patients and address the future requirements of the health care markets. The prospect of developing truly game changing medicines motivates our teams and makes us believe more than ever in our future.”
An internationally recognized daily newsletter reaching more than 90,000 biotech and pharma industry professionals, FierceBiotech provides subscribers with a quick, authoritative briefing on the day's top stories. Every year FierceBiotech evaluates hundreds of private companies for its annual list, which is based on a variety of factors such as the strength of its technology, partnerships, venture backers and a competitive market position.
The Fierce 15 celebrates the spirit of being "fierce" – championing innovation and creativity, even in the face of intense competition. A complete list of “Fierce 15” companies—the online newsletter’s ninth annual selection--is available online at www.fiercebiotech.com.
About Selecta
Selecta Biosciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing an entirely new class of targeted vaccines that induces an antigen-specific immune activation or antigen-specific immune tolerance for therapeutic and prophylactic applications. Selecta's proprietary Synthetic Vaccine Particle (SVP™) platform creates a new paradigm in vaccine development, enabling completely new therapeutic applications while offering the potential of improved efficacy and safety profiles. Selecta’s fully synthetic engineering of novel vaccines offers a number of compelling benefits, including flexible modular vaccine design and accelerated development timelines using robust manufacturing processes. Selecta’s SVP™ platform technology is flexible to enable diverse vaccines and the company has created targeted antigen-specific Synthetic Vaccine Particles (tSVP™) and targeted antigen-specific tolerogenic Synthetic Vaccine Particles (t2SVP™).
Targeted Synthetic Vaccine Particles (tSVP™) activate immune responses to a wide array of relevant antigens, including small molecules, peptides, oligosaccharides, and proteins. These particles can target humoral or cellular pathways of the immune system. Examples for applications include cancer, infectious diseases and addiction. Targeted tolerogenic Synthetic Vaccine Particles (t2SVP™) are designed to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance. Examples for applications include autoimmune diseases, allergies and transplant rejection.
Selecta’s pipeline currently contains a vaccine for smoking cessation and relapse prevention, a vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes, vaccines for several infectious diseases (universal influenza, universal human papillomavirus, and malaria), and research approaches with cancer vaccines and in the field of allergies.
Building on the company’s novel approach, Selecta’s product candidates have the potential to become first-in-class or best-in-class therapeutics to treat and prevent diseases. Selecta Biosciences is based in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA. For more information, please visit www.selectabio.com.
About FierceBiotech
FierceBiotech is the biotech industry's daily monitor - a free email newsletter and web resource providing the latest biotech news, articles, and resources related to clinical trials, drug discovery, FDA approval and regulation, biotech company deals and more. More than 90,000 top biotech professionals rely on FierceBiotech for an insider briefing on the day’s top stories. Sign up is free at http://www.fiercebiotech.com.