China's Yisheng Biopharma said it produced "positive topline results" from a Phase I clinical trial of its investigational PIKA rabies vaccine. The vaccine is designed to accelerate the immune response against postexposure rabies virus, the company said in a release. The company said the project to develop the vaccine, which uses a double-stranded RNA analog, was named a "National Key Medicine Innovation" in 2013 by China's National Ministry of Science and Technology. Rabies, which kills 60,000 people annually around the world, is a severe problem around the world in developing countries such as India and China. The disease's mortality rate is nearly 100% after the onset of clinical symptoms, the company said in its statement, adding that "fast production of neutralizing antibody … post vaccination is critical for life saving against the post-exposure rabies infection." The clinical trial was carried out at Singapore's SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit. Release
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