INOVIO Initiates Phase 1 Clinical Trial Of Its COVID-19 Vaccine and Plans First Dose Today

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., April 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for INO-4800, its DNA vaccine candidate designed to prevent COVID-19 infection, paving the way for Phase 1 clinical testing of INO-4800 in healthy volunteers beginning this week. The first dosing is planned for today.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, INOVIO’s President and CEO, said, “This is a significant step forward in the global fight against COVID-19. Without a new safe and effective vaccine, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to continue to threaten lives and livelihoods. It also demonstrates the power of our DNA medicines platform to rapidly develop and advance a vaccine for COVID-19 into Phase 1 clinical testing. Our dedicated team of staff, partners and funders have been mobilized since the genetic sequence of the virus became available in early January and continues to work around the clock to ensure that we are rapidly advancing INO-4800 through this Phase 1 study towards planned efficacy trials.” Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), said, “This development is an important step forward in the world’s search for a COVID-19 vaccine. INOVIO’s DNA vaccine platform was one of the first technologies selected by CEPI to develop a vaccine candidate against COVID-19. We are pleased to see the rapid advancement of their vaccine candidate into clinical safety testing. Producing a COVID-19 vaccine within the next 12 to 18 months is not only a scientific challenge; it will also require new levels of collaboration and investment across industry and government. There is still a long road ahead before we have a safe, effective, and globally accessible vaccine ready for broader use, but today we have reached an important milestone on that journey.” […]

Click here to view original web page at www.tiogapublishing.com