This vaccine is being delivered using Inovio’s electroporation-based DNA delivery system. In the third and highest dose cohort of the study, two of three subjects demonstrated reductions in viral load of 93% and 99.7%.
Previously reported middle dose cohort results demonstrated an 87% and 98% reduction in hepatitis C virus (HCV) in two of three subjects, while no anti-viral effect was observed in the low dose cohort. No safety issues have been noted to date in the trial. These data suggest a potential dose response of the vaccine and support the inclusion of three additional subjects in the high dose cohort.
Avtar Dhillon, president and CEO of Inovio, said: “We continue to be encouraged by the data flowing out of the ChronVac-C study. This promising DNA vaccine candidate, in which Inovio has an ownership position, is one of the more advanced clinical vaccine candidates in the HCV field. ChronVac-C was designed to play a role as a first-line therapy or as an adjunct to existing therapies.”
ChronVac-C is a therapeutic DNA-based vaccine given to individuals already infected with the hepatitis C virus with the aim of clearing the infection from the liver by boosting the body’s immune response against the virus. Inovio’s electroporation technology is being used to deliver the vaccine and is intended to enhance the potency of the DNA vaccine.