Garth Schulz

In the fall of 2020, Greffex was awarded an NIH contract to develop a gene therapy to address Usher Syndrome blindness.  According to Greffex CEO, John Price, “Greffex is excited to continue its mission to provide hope to children and families who have been dealt a harsh hand.  Usher Syndrome affects both hearing and vision loss in children and young adults to varying degrees. It is a hereditary disease with no current cure, however, Greffex will deploy its gene therapy expertise in hopes of preventing the blindness aspect of Usher.” 

Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Uwe Staerz, and his team in Aurora, Colorado will lead the studies which they will commence on March 1, 2021.

In addition to its work on Usher Syndrome, Greffex is continuing to accelerate its vaccine program, with two vaccine candidates in pre-clinical trials – a Covid-19 vaccine and an H5N1 avian influenza vaccine – and a third vaccine candidate for universal flu nearing pre-clinical stage later in 2021.

January 29, 2021

Greffex presented unofficial pre-clinical trial data this week on its H5N1 vaccine candidate that it’s been working to develop under an NIH contract.

Early results are encouraging.  100% of the mice that received the Greffex H5N1 vaccine survived after being challenged with a lethal dose of H5N1.  Conversely, 100% of the mice that were not vaccinated died or were euthanized in less than a week for having lost excessive body weight.  Even the mice that received a single dose and a low dosage had 100% survival.

In addition to the survival tests the Greffex trials revealed strong T-cell and strong antibody responses, well in excess of the FDA requirements.  While more animal trials will be conducted in the near term, these early results are consistent with highly immunogenic results from previous tests sponsored by the NIH on Greffex’s H5N1 and MERS vaccines.