Okairos is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company spun off in 2007 from IRBM, a Merck, Inc. subsidiary located in Rome-Italy. Okairos develops genetic vaccines for major infectious diseases, including malaria, hepatitis C (HCV) and universal influenza, using a novel proprietary technology. The company’s laboratories are located in Rome and Naples, Italy, with corporate headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.
Okairos’ technology platform is centered on the development of new, potent, replication-incompetent Adenovirus vectors, derived from strains isolated from chimpanzees and used to encode and deliver prophylactic and therapeutic antigens.
These vectors have several major advantages over existing Adenoviral vectors: they are not neutralized by human sera, and they hold promise for generating effective T cell responses, where existing vectors have failed. Okairos’ Adenovirus vector platform is being used to generate a pipeline of T cell vaccines against a range of infectious diseases, for which there is currently no effective vaccine, as well as for cancer.
Okairos intends to bring its core vaccine candidates through to the completion of Phase II proof-of-concept trials, and will seek partnerships to support Phase III trials and market its vaccines worldwide. Selected vaccine candidates outside of Okairos' core areas may be out-licensed at an early stage of development.
