Updates on research progress

The One Health principle of the WHO recognizes the interconnectedness of human health, animal health, and environmental health. The health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. The One Health approach aims to promote optimal health outcomes for all.

In order to administer the human IBDV therapy in the food industry, we are partnering with stakeholders of the agricultural industry to develop a pig model for treating swine influenza (SwIF) on a large-scale farm that will also strengthen pandemic preparedness. This program is supported by the Hungarian government within its 2024-1.1.1-KKV_FÓKUSZ program. The consortium’s application entitled, A paradigm-changing viral therapy innovation: developing a therapy against viral pathogens that cause significant losses in pig farming, received 2M EUR funding for the development of a pig model for the IBDV treatment of swine influenza.

The therapeutic exploitation of natural viruses is a field that has, for too long, been overshadowed by dangerous disease-causing viruses that get most of the attention, such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV and Ebola.

The therapeutic exploitation of natural viruses is a field that has, for too long, been unfairly overlooked because typically, dangerous disease-causing viruses grab our attention, such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV and Ebola.

Repurposing IBDV as a versatile, off-the-shelf antiviral tool is possible!

Dr Klausner’ statement should, therefore, be remembered:

‘As I go around the country, I talk about the tragedy of cancer to remind people that the tragedy is not our inability to prevent the inevitable or to do the impossible; tragedy is when a person, a group or a society fails to achieve the possible.’

Dr Richard Klausner

American scientist, the 11th director of the National Cancer Institute of the United States

Publications

  1. Tibor Bakacs, Konstantin Chumakov. (2024). A Harmless Avian Vaccine Virus Could Be Developed into an Off-the-Shelf “Antibiotic” for Viruses. Qeios. doi:10.32388/AZ4JZV.2.
  2. Bakacs T, Fehér LZ, Puskás LG: Sting Pathway Activation by Orally Administered Attenuated dsRNA Vaccine Virus for Therapy of Viral Diseases. Qeios. 2024. 10.32388/S7SMJS.2
  3. Bakacs, T., Sandig, V., and Kovesdi, I. (2023). Combination Therapy for the Treatment of Shingles with an Immunostimulatory Vaccine Virus and Acyclovir. Pharmaceuticals 16, 226.
  4. Bakacs, T., Chumakov, K., Safadi, R., and Kovesdi, I. (2022a). Editorial: Fighting fire with fire: Using non-pathogenic viruses to control unrelated infections. Front. Immunol. 13, 1046851. 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1046851.
  5. Bakacs, T., Volker, S., and Kovesdi, I. (2022d). An Orally Administered Nonpathogenic Attenuated Vaccine Virus Can Be Used to Control SARSCoV-2 Infection: A Complementary Plan B to COVID-19 Vaccination. Cureus 14, e28467. 10.7759/cureus.28467.
  6. Bakacs, T., Safadi, R., Puskas, L.G., Feher, L.Z., and Kovesdi, I. (2022b). Sequential Combination of a Strong Interferon Inducer Viral Vector With Low Doses of Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab Could Provide Functional Cure in Chronic Hepatitis B Virus infections: Technical Report Proposing a New Modality. Cureus 14, e22750. 10.7759/cureus.22750.
  7. Bakacs, T., Sandig, V., Slavin, S., Gumrukcu, S., Hardy, W.D., Renz, W., and Kovesdi, I. (2022c). A clinically validated, broadly active, oral viral superinfection therapy could mitigate symptoms in early-stage COVID-19 patients. Infect Disord Drug Targets. 10.2174/1871526522666220419130403.
  8. Bakacs T (December 09, 2021) Healing of Severe Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus Within a Few Days: An Autobiographical Case Report. Cureus 13(12): e20303. doi:10.7759/cureus.20303
  9. Kovesdi, I.R., M.V.; Chumakov, P.M.; Sandig, V.; Bakacs, T. 2020. The Clinically Validated Viral Superinfection Therapy (SIT) Platform Technology May Mitigate Severe Cases of COVID-19 Infections. Preprints.
  10. Kleef, R., Nagy, R., Baierl, A., Bacher, V., Bojar, H., McKee, D.L., Moss, R., Thoennissen, N.H., Szasz, M., Bakacs, T. 2020. Low-dose ipilimumab plus nivolumab combined with IL-2 and hyperthermia in cancer patients with advanced disease: exploratory findings of a case series of 131 stage IV cancers – a retrospective study of a single institution. Cancer Immunol Immunother.
  11. Kovesdi, I., Bakacs, T. 2019. Therapeutic exploitation of viral interference. Infectious Disorders – Drug Targets 19, 1.
  12. Bakacs T, Safadi R, Kovesdi I. Post-infection viral superinfection technology could treat HBV and HCV patients with unmet needs. Hepatology, Medicine and Policy. 2018;3(1):2
  13. Hornyak A, Lipinski KS, Bakonyi T, Forgach P, Horvath E, Farsang A et al. Effective multiple oral administration of reverse genetics engineered infectious bursal disease virus in mice in the presence of neutralizing antibodies. J Gene Med 2015 April 30;17(6-7):116-31.
  14. Mehrishi JN., Bakács T.: HIV and hepatitis G virus/GB virus C co-infection: beneficial or not? THE LANCET Infectious Diseases 5(8) 464-465, 2005.
  15. Bakacs T, Mehrishi JN. Examination of the value of treatment of decompensated viral hepatitis patients by intentionally coinfecting them with an apathogenic IBDV and using the lessons learnt to seriously consider treating patients infected with HIV using the apathogenic hepatitis G virus. Vaccine 2004;23(1):3-13.
  16. Bakacs T, Mehrishi JN. Intentional coinfection of patients with HCV infection using avian infection bursal disease virus. Hepatology 2002;36(1):255.
  17. Csatary LK, Bakacs T. Use of Newcastle disease virus vaccine (MTH-68/H) in a patient with high-grade glioblastoma. JAMA 1999;281(17):1588-9.
  18. Csatary LK, Moss RW, Beuth J, Torocsik B, Szeberenyi J, Bakacs T. Beneficial treatment of patients with advanced cancer using a Newcastle disease virus vaccine (MTH-68/H). Anticancer Res. 1999;19(1B):635-8.
  19. Csatary LK, Schnabel R, Bakács T: Successful treatment of decompensated chronic viral hepatitis by bursal disease virus vaccine. Anticancer Res. 1999, 19:629-33.
  20. Csatary LK, Telegdy L, Gergely P, Bodey B, Bakacs T. Preliminary report of a controlled trial of MTH-68/B virus vaccine treatment in acute B and C hepatitis: a phase II study. Anticancer Res. 1998;18(2B):1279-82.

Experts who have worked with us or supported the IBDV drug candidate

Prof Marc Van Ranst (former Chairman of the Scientific Board)

Prof Alfred Tauber (provided LOS)

Prof Jitendra Mehrishi (coauthor)

Dr. Yusuf Hamied (provided LOS)

Prof Konstantin Chumakov (coauthor)

Prof Robert Gish (provided LOS)

Prof Rifaat Safadi (coauthor)

Prof Ann Linder (coauthor)

Prof Christine Benn (coauthor)

Prof Laura M. Kasman (coauthor)

Prof Shirit Einav (provided LOS)

Prof Hans-Dieter Volk (provided LOS)

Prof Leif Erik Sander (provided LOS)

Prof Yves Charpak (provided LOS)