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Pharmaceutical industry

Inovio Biomedical Corporation Announces Breakthrough in DNA Vaccine Development for Hepatitis C

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in enabling the development of DNA vaccines using electroporation-based DNA delivery, announced that its partner, Tripep AB of Sweden, has demonstrated promising results in a murine model of hepatitis C. The study, conducted in collaboration with Inovio, showed that the proprietary DNA vaccine, ChronVac-C, administered using Inovio's MedPulser DNA Drug Delivery System, activated a T-cell response capable of clearing liver cells expressing hepatitis C virus protein. This breakthrough could potentially lead to the development of a therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis C infections.

Key Takeaways:

  • Inovio Biomedical Corporation's partner, Tripep AB of Sweden, has demonstrated that the proprietary DNA vaccine, ChronVac-C, administered using Inovio's MedPulser DNA Drug Delivery System, activated a T-cell response in mice capable of clearing liver cells expressing hepatitis C virus protein.
  • The study was conducted in a murine model of hepatitis C, a major cause of acute hepatitis, and spread primarily through direct contact with human blood.
  • ChronVac-C is a therapeutic DNA vaccine designed to stimulate the body's immune system to attack hepatitis C-infected cells, with animal experiments demonstrating its ability to clear liver cells producing HCV protein.
  • Inovio's electroporation-based DNA delivery system has been shown to boost the immune response by orders of magnitude over DNA plasmid alone, making it a promising approach for developing DNA vaccines for infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C.
  • The study's results complement previous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of Inovio's electroporation-based DNA delivery system in inducing immune responses capable of clearing hepatitis C virus proteins.
  • Tripep intends to conduct a phase I clinical study with healthy volunteers in Sweden in the first half of 2007 to investigate the safety and efficacy of the ChronVac-C vaccine in combination with Inovio's MedPulser gene delivery system.
  • Hepatitis C is a significant global health issue, with an estimated 170 million people chronically infected worldwide, representing a large reservoir of infection, and 3-4 million new cases of infection occurring annually.
  • In the US, an estimated 4.1 million people are infected with HCV, of whom 3.2 million are chronically infected, with certain antiviral therapies being somewhat effective in treating hepatitis C, but no vaccine currently available to prevent it.

Statistics:

  • 70-90% of newly infected patients may progress to develop chronic infection (WHO: 2002).
  • 5-20% of those with chronic liver disease may develop cirrhosis.
  • 5% of infected persons may die from the consequences of long-term infection (due to liver cancer or cirrhosis).
  • Estimated 170 million people are chronically infected with HCV globally.
  • 3-4 million people are newly infected with HCV annually.
  • 4.1 million people are infected with HCV in the US, of whom 3.2 million are chronically infected.

Sources:

  • Inovio Biomedical Corporation press release
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2006)
  • World Health Organization (2002)

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