Pharmexa and Bavarian Nordic initiates new NIH funded Phase I trial of two HIV vaccines EP1233 and MVA-BN Polytope in combination

Summary: Pharmexa-Epimmune, a wholly-owned US subsidiary of Pharmexa A/S, and Bavarian Nordic today announced the initiation of a Phase I trial testing of the two HIV vaccines EP1233 and MVA-BN Polytope in combination.

Pharmexa-Epimmune and Bavarian Nordic today announced the initiation of a Phase I trial testing two HIV vaccines EP1233 and MVA-BN Polytope in combination. The clinical trial will be conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) which is supported through a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The HVTN will enrol up to 108 uninfected volunteers in the US. Interim results are expected by the end of 2007.

Marc Hertz, CEO of Pharmexa-Epimmune said: “This is an important milestone for Pharmexa as we continue our efforts to develop HIV vaccines in collaboration with the NIH. We are still searching for the best method to deliver epitopes in the HIV setting and this approach, DNA prime: MVA boost, is one of the most promising approaches in this field.”

The study vaccines were developed by a Pharmexa-led consortium through a contract with NIAID, which to date has provided more than USD 10.0 million to develop a broad HIV vaccine for worldwide use with a population coverage across all ethnic and racial populations.

Pharmexa and Bavarian Nordic share the marketing rights for both vaccines.