Disclosed are immunogenic compositions and methods for their use in the formulation and administration of therapeutic and prophylactic pharmaceutical agents. In particular, the invention provides immunogenic compositions and methods for preventing, treating, and/or ameliorating the symptoms of one or more microbial infections, including, for example, influenza.

Disclosed are immunogenic compositions and methods for their use in the formulation and administration of therapeutic and prophylactic pharmaceutical agents. In particular, the invention provides immunogenic compositions and methods for preventing, treating, and/or ameliorating the symptoms of one or more microbial infections, including, for example, influenza.

The invention provides in part methods of treating cancers of a specific organ or tissue by administering a composition that is antigenically specific for one or more microbes that are pathogenic in the specific organ or tissue in which the cancer is situated.

The invention provides in part methods of treating cancers of a specific organ or tissue by administering a composition that is antigenically specific for one or more microbes that are pathogenic in the specific organ or tissue in which the cancer is situated.

The present invention relates to an improved process of conjugation to obtain synthetic oligosaccharide-protein (OS-PR) conjugates. The process of synthetic OS-PR conjugation is a rapid process providing oligosaccharide-protein conjugates which are highly immunogenic and elicit specific and homogenous immune responses. The synthetic oligosaccharide comprising of four to eight repeating units of respective monomers and at least one in-built terminal amino linker, said synthetic polysaccharide mimics natural polysaccharide obtained from gram negative bacteria such as Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, Y, W, X and Haemophilus influenzae and carrier protein is obtained from gram positive bacteria such as Clostridium tetani (tetanus toxoid) or Corynebacterium diphtheriae (CRM197) or their recombinant versions. The conjugation chemistry of the said oligosaccharide-protein conjugate of the present invention is thio-ether linkage. The present invention takes complete process time in the range of 14-22 hours. The said oligosaccharide-protein conjugates are useful in production of monovalent vaccine or multivalent combination vaccines and as diagnostic tool.

The present application discloses an immunogenic composition comprising N. meningitidis capsular polysaccharides from at least one of serogroups A, C, W135 and Y conjugated to a carrier protein to produce a N. meningitidis capsular polysaccharide conjugate, wherein the average size of each N. meningitidis polysaccharide is above 50 kDa.

The present application discloses an immunogenic composition comprising N. meningitidis capsular polysaccharides from at least one of serogroups A, C, W135 and Y conjugated to a carrier protein to produce a N. meningitidis capsular polysaccharide conjugate, wherein the average size of each N. meningitidis polysaccharide is above 50 kDa.

The present invention relates to a surface exposed protein (protein E; pE), a virulence factor, which can be detected in Haemophilus influenzae, having an amino acid sequence as described in SEQ ID NO 1, an immunogenic fragment of said surface exposed protein, and a recombinant immunogenic protein (pE(A)) or truncated variants thereof based on said surface exposed protein. Nucleic acid sequences, vaccines, plasmids and phages, non human hosts, recombinant nucleic acid sequences, fusion proteins and fusion products are also described. A method of producing the said protein or truncated fragments thereof recombinantly is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a surface exposed protein (protein E; pE), a virulence factor, which can be detected in Haemophilus influenzae, having an amino acid sequence as described in SEQ ID NO 1, an immunogenic fragment of said surface exposed protein, and a recombinant immunogenic protein (pE(A)) or truncated variants thereof based on said surface exposed protein. Nucleic acid sequences, vaccines, plasmids and phages, non human hosts, recombinant nucleic acid sequences, fusion proteins and fusion products are also described. A method of producing the said protein or truncated fragments thereof recombinantly is also disclosed.

Pre-conditioning a vaccine site with a potent recall antigen such as tetanus/diphtheria (Td) toxoid can significantly improve the lymph node homing and efficacy of tumor antigen-specific DC vaccines. Patients given Td had enhanced DC migration bilaterally and significantly improved survival. In mice, Td pre-conditioning also enhanced bilateral DC migration and suppressed tumor growth in a manner dependent on the chemokines CCL3 and CCL21 and Td-activated CD4.sup.+ T cells. Interference with any component of this axis markedly reduced Td-mediated DC migration and antitumor responses. Our clinical studies and corroborating investigations in mice suggest that pre-conditioning with a potent recall antigen represents a viable strategy to increase DC homing to lymph nodes and improve antitumor immunotherapy.