AADvac1

AADvac1 is an active immunotherapy (therapeutic vaccine) developed to target pathological tau proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, primarily Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies such as progressive supranuclear palsy. The vaccine consists of a synthetic peptide derived from amino acids 294–305 of the human tau protein (sequence KDNIKHVPGGGS), conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin and formulated with aluminum hydroxide as an adjuvant. Its mechanism involves inducing the immune system to produce antibodies that selectively bind abnormal, misfolded forms of tau, thereby preventing their aggregation and spread between neurons, facilitating their clearance by microglia, and ultimately aiming to slow or halt neurodegeneration. Clinical studies have shown that AADvac1 is safe and well-tolerated, elicits strong antibody responses against pathological tau species, reduces biomarkers associated with neurodegeneration (such as Neurofilament Light Chain), and shows supportive clinical signals for slowing disease progression[2][4][5][6][7][8].