The First Patient with Chronic Hepatitis C has Initiated Treatment with Tripep’s ChronVac-C® Vaccine
Yesterday the first patient with chronic Hepatitis C virus infection was treated with the ChronVac-C® vaccine administered using Inovios Medpulser®.This was the first time ever a human was vaccinated with a DNA vaccine using in vivo electroporation against a chronic Hepatitis C infection. The study includes a total of 12 patients in three dose groups. Every patient will receive four monthly ChronVac-C® vaccinations and will be followed for another six months after the last vaccination.
”Today’s therapies for chronic Hepatitis C virus infections have a limited efficacy, are costly and are associated with significant side effects. ChronVac-C® is a therapeutic vaccine against chronic Hepatitis C virus infections that may - if the now initiated study shows promising results with a lower number of treatments, less side effects and at a lower cost - have good chances of becoming a first-line therapy”, says Tripep´s CEO Mr Jan Nilsson.
ChronVac-C® is a therapeutic vaccine, i.e. it is given to individuals already infected with the Hepatitis C virus with the aim to clear the infection by boosting the immune response against the virus. Tripep’s ChronVac-C® vaccine is administered with Inovio’s Medpulser® to further enhance the effect of the vaccination.
The study is conducted at two sites at the Karolinska University Hospital; at the Infectious Disease Clinic (Huddinge) and the Centre for Gastroenterology (Solna). It includes four groups with a total of 12 infected patients treated with increasing doses of ChronVac-C®. After three months the fourth group will be given the dose that has shown the best efficacy. The first patient received the first treatment yesterday and is scheduled for the second treatment in four weeks. The next patient is scheduled for initial treatment in two weeks.
The main purpose of the study is to show that the treatment is safe. The study will also evaluate if the treatment boosts the immune response to Hepatitis C, as well as the effect on the virus replication. This is an open study and hence the treatment results will continuously be evaluated and communicated. The total market for therapies against Hepatitis C infections is estimated to be over 2 billion dollars and is expected to grow to more than 8 billion dollars by 2015.
For more information, please contact:
Jan Nilsson, CEO, Tripep AB
Tel: +46 8 449 84 80, mobile phone: +46 70 466 31 63
E-mail: jan.nilsson@tripep.se
Anders Vahlne, Head of Research, Tripep AB
Tel: +46 8 5858 1313, mobile phone: +46 709 28 05 28
E-mail: anders.vahlne@ki.se