Inovio’s Vaccine Demonstrates 100% Protection Against A/H1N1 Influenza

Inovio’s SynCon H1N1 influenza DNA vaccines achieved protection against swine origin influenza A/H1N1 viruses in animal studies.

The company had previously reported data from an ongoing study in a pig model, in which the SynCon-based H1N1 vaccines achieved hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers above the protection threshold in 100% of the vaccinated animals against the swine influenza virus.

In a second study, the investigators immunized mice with the NP and m2E components of the vaccine and challenged these animals with a second related strain, also isolated from the current circulating influenza A/H1N1. While all mice showed effects of virus challenge as judged by significant weight loss, the vaccinated mice recovered from virus infection-induced morbidity significantly faster as compared to the non-immunized control animals.

In a previous study, the Inovio team demonstrated that mice immunized with Inovio’s SynCon H1N1 DNA vaccine provided 100% protection in a lethal challenge study against H1N1 virus.

Joseph Kim, CEO of Inovio, said: “The latest data further underscores the potential of the SynCon technology to create vaccines capable of protecting against emerging pandemic influenza viruses. Our SynCon influenza vaccines were developed prior to the emergence of the current swine flu strains and have yielded strong protective responses in animal models against a variety of unmatched influenza strains.

This is an advantage for our universal flu program over conventional influenza vaccines, which are strain-specific. Inovio, along with its collaborators, is amongst the first groups to report on the successful protection of vaccinated animals against a virus challenge with the 2009 influenza A/H1N1 virus. We are also one of the first groups to report on preclinical results regarding this virus using a large-animal model like pigs, a more natural host for the current influenza pandemic,” he added.