Mymetics Corporation (OTCQB: MYMX), a pioneer in the research and development of virosome-based vaccines to prevent transmission of human infectious diseases across mucosal membranes, announced today that its innovative HIV vaccine candidate will enter a new preclinical trial to confirm excellent results obtained in a previous trial.
Research to be funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The study will be led by Dr. Ruth Ruprecht, Scientist & Director of the Texas Biomed AIDS Research Program. This new study follows a successfully completed smaller study at the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science (ILAS) in Beijing, China in which a two-component vaccine protected all monkeys against repeated AIDS virus exposures from persistent infection - an unprecedented result.(1) One of the vaccine components further showed a strong safety and tolerance profile in a Phase I clinical trial in human volunteers.(2)
Dr. Ruth Ruprecht said, "Mymetics' HIV vaccine candidate is unique in its design. First, it uses building blocks from a special part of the HIV envelope protein, called gp41, and second, it was engineered to stop HIV from crossing the mucosal barriers - with promising initial results. We are extremely proud that this study is to be funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We hope to confirm the previous findings and learn more about this vaccine's mechanism of action in providing mucosal protection."
Ronald Kempers, CEO of Mymetics, commented, "We are very honored and pleased about our collaboration with Dr. Ruth Ruprecht, a leading expert in the HIV field. This collaboration and funding represents an important milestone and recognition of the work performed by the Mymetics team and partners over the last years and provides a basis to further develop our HIV vaccine candidate. "
He added: "After the signing of the license and collaboration agreement earlier this year for our Respiratory Syncytial Virus vaccine candidate which is funded by Astellas Pharma, this new funding and collaboration for our HIV vaccine candidate is another confirmation that we are on the right track and are building a strong foundation for success with the right partners."
New trial to begin October 2014
With its HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus type 1) vaccine candidate, produced through its proprietary virosome technology and judicious antigen design, Mymetics aims to provide both a first line of defense through mucosal protection as well as a second line of defense against infection through the generation of blood antibodies. The new trial, to begin in October 2014, will involve 36 rhesus monkeys (n=12 per group) and compare two antigen vaccination regimens with placebo, followed by intra-vaginal challenges with live virus that carries an envelope that differs from the one in the vaccine preparation. Results are expected at the end of 2015.
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