Neovacs and Lupus Europe Join Voices on World Lupus Day

PARIS and BOSTON, May 10, 2017 -- Neovacs (Alternext Paris:ALNEV), a leader in active immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, and Lupus Europe, umbrella association of, currently, 24 national lupus patient organisations from 22 member countries throughout Europe, together join voices on the occasion of World Lupus Day in order to raise awareness about this chronic and debilitating autoimmune disease - whose origin is still poorly understood by the general population, but also decision makers.

Lupus affects numerous organs and tissues, producing heterogeneous clinical signs (skin rash, arthritis, photosensitivity, renal damage, neurological disorders, anaemia…), which vary from one person to another and change as the disease progresses, with periods of remissions and relapses or flares. Lupus affects mostly women (9 women for every 1 man). All over Europe, up to 500,000 people are affected with different grades of severity.¹

Fortunately, they can count on patient associations to accompany them on their path with the disease. Lupus Europe gathers those organisations in order to better support people living with lupus all around Europe, help them understand their condition, and better improve research and scientific knowledge of the disease.

One of these scientific actors, Neovacs, is a specialist in active immunotherapy, dedicated to developing therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Unlike monoclonal antibodies used in many cancer treatments and inflammatory diseases treatments, Kinoid^® therapeutic vaccines developed by Neovacs induce the patients’ immune system to produce their own polyclonal antibodies. Recent research highlighted the major role of IFNɑ in the immune system dysfunction associated with lupus, opening new perspectives for the treatment of this condition. IFNɑ Kinoid is the most advanced product produced by Neovacs. This vaccine is currently in phase IIb in lupus indication, which is hopeful for patients whose participation in clinical trials is crucial to help scientists discover new treatments.

“50 years ago, lupus meant a death sentence. Today, people can have a relatively normal life, thanks to more - but not yet enough - treatments and a better understanding of the disease. It’s the clinical trials that are vital to lupus. In terms of research, we are quite excited about a few labs who have taken interest into lupus these past few years. We are watching with great interest the possibility of a vaccination, which would be magnificent for the patients,” explains Anne Charlet, Vice Chair of the Lupus Europe association.

About Neovacs
Listed on Alternext Paris since 2010, Neovacs is today a leading biotechnology company focused on an active immunotherapy technology platform (Kinoids) with applications in autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases. On the basis of the company’s proprietary technology for inducing a polyclonal immune response (covered by five patent families that potentially run until 2032) Neovacs is focusing its clinical development efforts on IFNα-Kinoid, an immunotherapy being developed for the indication of lupus and dermatomyositis. Neovacs is also conducting preclinical development works on other therapeutic vaccines in the fields of auto-immune diseases, oncology, allergies and Type 1 diabetes. The goal of the Kinoid approach is to enable patients to have access to safe treatments with efficacy that is sustained in these life-long diseases. www.neovacs.fr

About Lupus Europe
LUPUS EUROPE is the umbrella association of currently 24 national lupus patient organisations from 22 member countries throughout Europe. It is a registered charity supporting people with lupus in Europe, keeping member countries informed by blog, Facebook, Twitter, and regular NewsFlashes on the work of LUPUS EUROPE, promoting lupus at conventions and meetings throughout Europe.
Its mission is to:

• make lupus a well-known illness throughout Europe and, in partnership with the medical profession, secure high quality standards of treatment and support for people with lupus, their families and their care
• encourage and support the health and social systems of member countries, to allow people with lupus to live independent lives and be recognised as equal members of society.

http://lupus-europe.eu/

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¹ Cervera R, Khamashta MA, Hughes GR. The Euro-lupus project: epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus in Europe. Lupus 2009; 18: 869–74.
Carter EE, Barr SG, Clarke AE. The global burden of SLE: prevalence, health disparities and socioeconomic impact. Nature reviews. Rheumatology 2016: 12(10): 605–620.

Contacts
                                                               
NEOVACS – Corporate Communication & Investor Relations
Charlène Masson
+33 (0)1 53 10 93 14
[email protected]

NEWCAP – Press Relations
Annie-Florence Loyer
+ 33 (0)1 44 71 00 12 // + 33 (0)6 88 20 35 59
[email protected]

Lupus Europe
[email protected]