Bavarian Nordic Enters Clinical Trials with HIV Multiantigen Vaccine

Bavarian Nordic, (Kvistgaard, Denmark), has initiated a Phase 1–2 clinical study with its HIV vaccine candidate, MVA-BN HIV multiantigen.

Enrolment in a Phase 1–2 safety and immunogenicity study in 15 HIV-infected patients (CD4 counts >350 uL/mL) has begun in the United States. The first safety data is expected by the end of 2008 and immunogenicity data will be available during first half of 2009.

The MVA-BN HIV multiantigen vaccine encodes eight genes from HIV, including Nef, and thus represents a more advanced vaccine candidate compared to Bavarian Nordic’s previous MVA-based HIV vaccine candidates, MVA HIV nef and MVA-BN HIV polytope. In previous clinical studies with MVA HIV nef, Bavarian Nordic has demonstrated proof-of-concept for the MVA technology’s ability to control HIV replication. Furthermore, the vaccine was shown to be immunogenic and to induce a broad T-cell response to Nef. The MVA-BN HIV multiantigen builds on these positive results and represents an excellent opportunity to stimulate a broad immune response to the majority of the HIV proteins that will likely have important implications in a prophylactic and therapeutic setting for HIV.