Biotech Firm Begins Human Trial Of Lassa Fever Vaccine In West Africa

A biotechnology company, INOVIO, on Wednesday, launched the phase 1B clinical trial of its Lassa vaccine as a first human was dosed with INO-4500 of its DNA vaccine candidate on Tuesday.

The firm launched the exercise at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Accra, Ghana. It is the first to be conducted in West Africa.

According to INOVIO, the trial is focused on bringing to market precisely-designed DNA medicines to treat and protect people from infectious diseases and cancer.

Kwadwo Koram, who is an expert and specialist in tropical medicines and epidemiologist, is the lead clinical Principal Investigator for the clinical trial (otherwise known as LSV-002) with more than 20 years of research experience in malaria vaccines, amongst others.

INO-4500 is the first vaccine candidate for Lassa fever to enter human trials.

The biotech company said it was advancing INO-4500 with full funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global partnership that leverages funding from public, private, philanthropic and civil society organisations to support research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases.

“INOVIO and CEPI are committed to making a vaccine available as soon as possible for emergency use as a stockpile product post-Phase 2 testing,” it said.

A statement by INOVIO also noted that Phase 1B clinical trial (LSV-002) would enrol approximately 220 adult participants who are 18 – 50 years old, with the primary endpoints of evaluating safety and immunogenicity in an African population.

The dosing regimen also involves two vaccinations at zero and 28 days with either 1.0 mg or 2.0 mg dosing levels.

In addition to providing valuable insights on the INO-4500 safety and immunogenicity profile, the trial would inform dose selection for subsequent Phase 2 studies in West Africa.

Speaking on the development, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Chikwe Ihekweazum said in a tweet: “Fantastic news. The urgency of now. A vaccine for Lassa fever. We have worked very hard with WHO, CEPI vaccines, ACEGID, BNITM_de and many others to put this on the global health agenda. We will keep pushing”.