The patent-protected gene sequences have been tested as HIV vaccine candidates on 40 test persons by the EuroVacc Foundation in a Phase I clinical trial. In the trial, the prophylactic vaccination proved to be safe and well tolerated, and it triggered a strong and lasting immune response in 90 % of the vaccinated test persons in London and Lausanne. As the licensor, Geneart provided the patented gene sequences (structural design) for the tested vaccines.
The synthetic genes were custom-designed by the scientists at Geneart and the University of Regensburg. These genes serve as the basis for the vaccine candidates, which are used in the so-called ‘prime boost’ procedure as naked DNA (DNA-HIV-C), and with a genetically modified small pox vaccine (NYVAC-HIV-C) as a carrier system.