Using a variation of the typical booster shot vaccination process, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Transgene and ChronTech Pharma have joined together for a Phase I study of a therapeutic hepatitis C vaccine.
Rather than using the traditional model in which patients receive the the first priming vaccination followed by a booster shot, the companies will use different vaccines for the two jabs, hoping to capitalize on multiple immune responses. The study will use Inovio's MedPulser DDS vaccine as the primer and Transgene's TG4040 as the boost to deliver ChronTech's DNA vaccine, ChronVac-C.
"We are very pleased to combine our ChronVac-C vaccine delivered using Inovio's Medpulser with Transgene's TG4040 MVA-based vaccine in a new vaccination regimen," ChronTech's CEO Anders Vahlne said in a release. "The extensive preclinical studies that have been performed by the companies together with their unique clinical experience has paved the way for this very exciting clinical trial."
The Germany-based Phase I study will enroll 12 patients with chronic hepatitis C. Currently, TG4040 and ChronVac-C are also undergoing separate Phase II tests.
- read the Inovio release
- see the Proactive Investors article
- and here's Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News' take