Therapeutics

The strategy of Cyto-Barr is focused on creating productive partnerships. Our role will be supportive, we assist in expertise, technology and supply of essential materials.
We are looking for industrial and/or NGO partners in order to implement our innovative methods, our lead reagents and expertise to find a cure for Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disease (PTLD) and other EBV-linked cancer types.

Cyto-Barr owns patents for creating vaccines or antibody-based therapeutics targeting EBV-encoded surface antigens in cancers, like NPC and Hodgkin's Disease.
Cyto-Barr is developing innovative therapies targeting EBV in various EBV-associated cancer types, and is involved in phase-I clinical studies for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), which is endemic in certain parts of Asia and Indonesia. In the Netherlands a phase-I  therapeutic study was recently started and in Indonesia we are preparing such clinical studies. We also actively pursue screening studies for the early identification of NPC, in order to improve treatment options.

Research Projects

Research projects are performed in close collaboration with the VU Medical Centre in Amsterdam.

For more information about ongoing projects visit the VUMC website.

logo-vumc

 

EBV product overview

Based on proprietary know-how and specific reagent sets, Cyto-Barr BV has developed a number of specific tools and assay concepts for improved diagnosis of EBV in various clinical syndromes.

Serologygraph 44

Using specific EBV-reagent combinations for:    

  • IM-diagnosis/-staging
  • Accurate EBV carrier status definition
  • CAEBV diagnosis/-monitoring
  • NPC-screening/diagnosis/prognosis
  • Vaccination monitoring
  • EBV-immune status determination:
    • IgM/IgG/IgA response to VCA, EA and EBNA
    • Immunoblot profiling.

Antigen-detection

By means of a panel of Moab’s/Poab’s for in situ antigen staining for:

  • Latency I-III definition
  • Lytic gene expression

ebv-products-dnaDNA monitoring

By means of a competitive QT-PCR protocol

targetting a conserved region of the EBNA1 gene for:

  • Monitoring EBV-DNA load in high risk patients
  • Transplant recipients
  • AIDS-patients and HIV-carriers
  • Cancer patients
  • Immunodeficiencies
  • Monitoring EBV activity in CAEBV

RNA profiling

By means of EBER-RISH, (RT-)PCR or NASBA testing for:

  • Demonstration of EBV presence in situ
  • Latency I-III definition in biopsy specimens

 

CMV Product overview

Cyto-Barr has developed innovative synthetic peptide-based tools with proven value for HCMV serodiagnosis in various clinical settings, including congenital infections, the organ-transplant setting and HIV-AIDS patients.
In addition we have developed RNA-based markers for a "traffic-light approach" in monitoring the potential life-threatening HCMV activity in high risk groups.

Cyto-Barr developed and owns the original hybridomas used for pp65-antigenaemia testing and detection of cytomegalic cells is tissues by immunohistochemistry.

PLTD and other related diseases

Prevention of symptomatic and potential life-threatening infection by accurate early-stage diagnosis plus timely intervention is the best therapeutic approach for treating EBV/CMV infections in patients with immature or defective immune responses.

Cyto-Barr has created unique reagents for serodiagnostic applications and explored innovative DNA and RNA based approaches for early-stage molecular diagnosis, prevention and therapeutic monitoring of life-threatening virus infections in transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS patients and other immunocompromised patients.
Multiple published (inter)national studies have shown the usefulness of our approaches.

In recent studies our reagents were instrumental for early-life detection EBV infection in children in African regions with high risk for Burkitt Lymphoma (BL), and are currently evaluated in BL-treatment studies.

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