101447Pre-Clinical Development of a Novel Therapeutic Vaccine for Chronic Hepatitis BClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKIn Europe there are an estimated 14 million citizens living with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, nearly a quarter of those will die of liver failure or liver cancer as a direct result of the viral infection, accounting for >36,000 deaths per annum. As a consequence HBV is a significant burden to healthcare systems across Europe through the direct costs of treatment, as well as indirect costs linked to lost productivity and premature death. Immune Targeting Systems (ITS) is developing a novel fluoropeptide vaccine immunotherapy (Hepsyn-B), based on its proprietary Depovaccine and Densigen technologies, to induce immune control over the disease, increase likelihood of the clearance of infected liver cells and reducing the need for prolonged costly drug therapy. This project provides the opportunity to expedite the pre-clinical development of Hepsyn-B and demonstrate vaccine safety, efficacy and manufacturability in preparation for human clinical trials.