New HIV Vaccine Safe, Immunogenic for Prevention
The PENNVAX-G DNA/modified vaccinia Ankara-Chiang Mai double recombinant (PVG/MVA-CMDR) prime-boost human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine is safe and immunogenic for the prevention of HIV-1 infection, according to a recent study.
For their study, the researchers evaluated 100 healthy adults without HIV infection. Participants were randomly assigned to receive an intramuscular injection of 4 mg PVG intramuscularly via Bioinjector or electroporation at baseline and week 4 followed by an intramuscular injection of 108 plaque-forming units of MVA-CMDR at weeks 12 and 24.
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The researchers recorded solicited and unsolicited events and measured immune responses.
A total of 88 participants had completed all study injections. Findings from the analysis showed that the study injections were generally safe and well-tolerated. However, participants in the electroporation group had experienced more immediate, transient pain.
Approximately 57% of participants had cellular responses and were cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) predominant. The researchers noted high rates of binding antibody responses to CRF01_AE antigens, including gp70 V1V2 scaffold. They also observed the presence of neutralizing antibodies via a peripheral blood mononuclear assay, as well as cell-mediated cytotoxicity activity.
“The PVG/MVA-CMDR HIV-1 vaccine regimen is safe and immunogenic,” the researchers concluded. “Substantial differences in safety or immunogenicity between modes of DNA delivery were not observed.”
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
Ake JA, Schuetz A, Pegu P, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of PENNVAX-G DNA prime administered by biojector 2000 or CELLECTRA electroporation device with modified vaccinia Ankara-CMDR boost. J Infect Dis. 2017;216(9):1080-1090. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jix456.