Vir Biotechnology Announces Initiation of Phase 1 Clinical Trial to Evaluate A Novel Vaccine Platform
January 06, 2021 at 08:00 am EST
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Vir Biotechnology, Inc. announced that the first patient was dosed in late December 2020 in a Phase 1 clinical trial of VIR-1111, an investigational human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) T cell vaccine. VIR-1111 is a proof-of-concept vaccine designed to test the hypothesis that this new approach can elicit potentially protective immune responses that differ from other HIV vaccines. VIR-1111 is uniquely designed to elicit abundant and durable CD4 and CD8 T cells that are programmed to attack virus-infected cells. This trial is being conducted in collaboration with Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 1 clinical trial is evaluating the safety and immunogenicity (ability to induce an immune response) of VIR-1111. The trial is enrolling healthy adults (ages 18 to 50) who are considered to be at low risk of HIV infection and who were previously infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). They will receive two doses of VIR-1111 or placebo given by subcutaneous injection and be assessed for safety, reactogenicity (common, expected adverse reactions following vaccination, such as pain and redness), tolerability and immunogenicity. The viral vector technology that will be used in this trial was developed in a collaboration between Vir scientists and a team of OHSU scientists led by Louis Picker, M.D., and Klaus Frueh, Ph.D. VIR-1111 is a subcutaneously administered HIV T cell vaccine based on HCMV that has been designed to elicit abundant T cells that recognize HIV epitopes in a way that differs from prior HIV vaccines.
Vir Biotechnology, Inc. is an immunology company, which is focused on combining cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases and other serious conditions. The Company's clinical development pipeline consists of product candidates targeting hepatitis delta virus (HDV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It also has several preclinical candidates in its pipeline including those targeting influenza A and B, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus (RSV and MPV), and human papillomavirus (HPV). The Company's pipeline includes VIR-1949, VIR-7229, VIR-2981, VIR-8190, and HIV Cure. It also engaged in developing tobevibart, a monoclonal antibody also known as VIR-3434, and Elebsiran, an siRNA also known as VIR-2218, for the treatment and suppression of chronic HDV. Its Elebsiran is an investigational HBV-targeted siRNA that reduces HBsAg, a protein which is required for the HDV viral life cycle.