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news.Vical also entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the US Naval Medical Research Center
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Vical’s DNA vaccine against A/H1N1 pandemic influenza (swine flu) has demonstrated robust immune responses in all of vaccinated animals against virus strains isolated from recent outbreaks in three distinct geographic locations; California, Texas and Mexico.
Vical’s plasmid DNA vaccine contains the H1 hemagglutinin gene sequence provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the swine-origin A/California/04/09 pandemic influenza virus, and after two doses produced immune responses well above the accepted protection threshold in 100% of vaccinated mice and rabbits using HI assays against the swine-origin A/California/07/09 x-179a, A/Texas/15/09 and A/Mexico/4108/09 influenza viruses.
Reportedly, Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) titers were well above the protection threshold of 40, ranging from 320 to 2,560 in mice, and from 640 to 2,560 in rabbits against the California strain. Results against the Texas and Mexico strains were essentially equivalent, ranging from 640 to 2,560 in both mice and rabbits.
Vijay Samant, president and chief executive officer of Vical, said: “Cross-reactivity is consistent with previous CDC reports that circulating strains of swine-origin A/H1N1 pandemic influenza have remained antigenically homogeneous.
“But future viral changes are unpredictable and could be far more substantial. The inherent speed of our DNA vaccine platform both in initial development and manufacturing could be extremely important in addressing the potential shortfalls of conventional vaccine approaches.”
Furthermore, Vical has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), a biomedical research organisation within the US Navy, to develop a vaccine against H1N1 influenza.
“We are working with the US Navy to secure funding to advance our H1 vaccine into human clinical testing. Based on the sustained threat from the ongoing H1N1 pandemic, we have initiated critical-path manufacturing activities to allow initiation of a phase 1 trial in as little as four to six weeks after funding is secured,” added Mr Samant.