The application is designed to permit initial clinical testing of Tripep's proprietary DNA vaccine, ChronVac-C, administered using Inovio's MedPulser DNA Delivery System. This combination is designed to activate a T-cell response capable of clearing hepatitis C virus. Tripep intends to conduct a phase I study in Sweden beginning in early 2007.
“This vaccine trial represents the first study in man of an infectious disease vaccine delivered with electroporation and we are excited about the product's potential,” said Avtar Dhillon, Inovio's president and CEO.
Intramuscular delivery of DNA vaccines using Inovio's proprietary electroporation technology has been shown in primate studies to boost the immune response by orders of magnitude over DNA plasmid alone. Plasmid-based vaccines induced higher levels of antibodies and T-cell responses when delivered via electroporation, suggesting the potential to provide better protection from infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C.