University of New Mexico researchers have received funding to launch an early-stage clinical trial of a vaccine engineered to clear pathological tau protein from the brains of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s dementia.

The Phase 1a/1b trial, supported in part by a $1 million grant from the Alzheimer’s Association’s Part the Cloud initiative, will test the novel vaccine, which was developed by UNM School of Medicine scientists, said Kiran Bhaskar, PhD, professor in the Departments of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology and Neurology.

“The primary endpoint of this study is safety and tolerability,” he said. “Can these subjects take these vaccinations without any anticipated side effects or adverse events? The second endpoint is the immunogenicity – can they make antibodies to tau?”

A specially engineered antibody that can accurately deliver RNA treatments into hard-to-reach and hard-to-treat tumors significantly improved survival and reduced tumor sizes in animal models, according to a study reported in Science Translational Medicine.

The study provides evidence that, once injected into the bloodstream, the antibody TMAB3, combined with a type of RNA that stimulates an innate immune reaction, can localize to tumors and penetrate and destroy stubborn diseased cells in pancreatic, brain, and skin cancers.

“Delivery of RNA-based therapies to tumors has been a challenge. Our finding that TMAB3 can form antibody/RNA complexes capable of delivering RNA payloads to tumors provides a new approach to overcome this challenge,” says Peter Glazer, senior author and Robert E. Hunter Professor of Therapeutic Radiology and Genetics at Yale School of Medicine (YSM).