Inovio Announces Hepatitis C Vaccine Phase I Clinical Trial

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. INO announced today that the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of its therapeutic vaccine for hepatitis C (INO-8000/VGX-6150) will be studied in a phase I clinical trial in chronically HCV infected patients. Under a 2011 collaborative development agreement, Inovio's affiliate, VGX International Inc. (KSE: 011000), is fully funding and conducting the study at multiple sites in Korea. Inovio is also planning to evaluate this hepatitis C (HCV) vaccine in additional clinical studies in the U.S. beginning in 2014. Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio's President and CEO, said, "More effective antiviral drugs have changed the prognosis for patients with hepatitis C; however, treatment failures remain and combination with an immunotherapeutic approach could make the difference for many patients. In preclinical studies, Inovio's HCV immunotherapy has shown to generate powerful T cell responses in the liver, which could be important in clearing HCV-infected liver cells.  We have already shown in published clinical studies that our vaccines generate best-in-class T-cell responses. In this study, the effects of Inovio's HCV immunotherapy will be directly tested in patients who have previously failed standard drug therapies. See full press release