Lassa Fever DNA Vaccine Candidate Advances

Don Hackett — Fri, 24 May 2019 21:18:36 +0000

Reviewer:

A DNA candidate vaccine to prevent infection from the Lassa virus announced it has dosed subjects in a first-in-human, Lassa Fever vaccine candidate clinical trial.

This is good news since the case-fatality rate among patients hospitalized for Lassa Fever is up to 20 percent and there are no licensed vaccines or approved treatment for Lassa Fever available as of May 24, 2019.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. plans to enroll approximately 60 volunteers in the INO-4500 study, which is a placebo-controlled, blinded, dose escalation study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and immune responses.

The INO-4500 program is fully funded through a global partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

In a previously published paper, Inovio reported that its DNA candidate vaccine against Lassa fever provided 100% protection in non-human primates challenged with a lethal dose of the virus in a pre-clinical study.

Inovio's synthetic nucleic acid platform of immunotherapies and vaccines deliver optimized synthetic antigen genes into cells with CELLECTRA® immune enhancing systems, where they are translated into protein antigens that activate an individual's immune system to generate robust targeted T cell and antibody responses.

Inovio's immunotherapies function exclusively in vivo and have generated an antigen-specific immune response against targeted diseases in all clinical trials to date.

Lassa fever, also known as Lassa hemorrhagic fever, is an acute viral disease which occurs mostly in West Africa, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Lassa virus infection in West Africa is estimated to affect 300,000 people annually, resulting in approximately 5,000 deaths, as disease and infection surveillance has been poor.

Recently, during February 2019, a Lassa Fever outbreak in Nigeria caused 72 deaths across 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory. This new data represents a case fatality ratio of 22 percent, based on 324 confirmed cases and 3 probable cases during 2019.

Recent Lassa Fever news:

Lassa Fever can cause a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, and swelling of the face, pain in the chest, back and abdomen, bleeding of various parts of the body including the eyes and nose.

This infection is spread through contact with infected rodents. Person to person transmission is also possible, via bodily fluids, albeit less common, says the CDC.

Inovio expects to advance its Lassa candidate vaccine into a Phase 2 field trial in endemic countries of West Africa later in 2019/2020.

With satisfactory Phase 2 data, CEPI in cooperation with local regulatory authorities may stockpile the Inovio vaccine for future use throughout the region.

CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civic organizations launched in Davos in 2017 to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics.

CEPI has received multi-year funding from Norway, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Wellcome. Learn more at CEPI.net.

Inovio is an innovative biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of its synthetic nucleic technology targeted against cancers and infectious diseases. For more information, visit Inovio.

Sub Title:

Inovio INO-4500 vaccine candidate is funded in part by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations

References:

Inovio First to Advance Lassa Fever Candidate Vaccine Into a Clinical Trial

Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of INO-4500 in Healthy Volunteers

Pre-clinical development of a vaccine against Lassa fever

Lassa Fever Outbreak Reaches 22% Fatality Ratio

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health, vaccines, vaccinations, lassa fever, inovio,

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Clinical Trials

Featured:

Lassa Fever Outbreak Reaches 22% Fatality Ratio

Don Hackett — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 19:50:26 +0000

Reviewer:

Kelley Lu, PharmD

Robert Carlson, MD

Danielle Reiter, RN

The Lassa Fever outbreak in Nigeria has now caused 72 deaths across 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory through February 10, 2019.

This new data is important since it, unfortunately, represents a case fatality ratio of 22 percent, based on 324 confirmed cases and 3 probable cases during 2019, which was published by the World Health Organization (WHO)

Of the 3,746 contacts identified in 2019, 2,658 are still under follow-up care, while 1,045 people have completed the 21 days of follow-up monitoring.

Since there is currently no approved vaccine, early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves an infected person’s survival, says the WHO.

Previously, on January 21, 2019, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) declared a Lassa fever outbreak.

WHO continues to advise all countries in the ‘Lassa Fever Belt” of central west Africa, on the need to enhance early detection and treatment of cases to reduce the case fatality rate as well as strengthen cross-border collaboration.

The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or feces. Person-to-person infections can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures, says the WHO.

Lassa fever usually causes mild symptoms, including slight fever, weakness, and headache. However, in some people, it can cause more serious symptoms, like bleeding in the gums, eyes, or nose.

To alert Americans prior to visiting Nigeria, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 1 Travel Alert regarding Lassa Fever on February 7, 2019.

Historically, there have been very few Lassa Fever cases reported in the USA. The CDC and the New Jersey Department of Health confirmed 1 death in a person returning to the USA from Liberia in 2015.

This ‘Practice Usual Precautions’ Alert says travelers who develop serious symptoms of Lassa fever during or after their trip should see a doctor right away. They should tell the doctor where they traveled in Nigeria and whether they had contact with a rodent or sick person.

Additionally, the CDC issued multiple Level 2, Travel Alerts, for Nigeria:

The CDC advises any visitor to Nigeria to be fully protected with an appropriate vaccine. This list of diseases and vaccines can be found at this CDC page.

International travelers can schedule pre-trip vaccine and medication counseling sessions with a local pharmacy at Vax-Before-Travel.

Additionally, the US State Department issued a Level 3 Travel Advisory on February 7, 2019, advising visitors to Nigeria 'Reconsider Travel’.

Sub Title:

Nigeria is confronting Lassa Fever, Yellow Fever, Polio and Monkeypox virus outbreaks during 2019

References:

Lassa Fever – Nigeria

Nigeria: Lassa Fever Outbreak - Jan 2019

Lassa Fever in Nigeria

Health Information for Travelers to Nigeria Traveler View

Nigeria Travel Advisory

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