HepC Vaccine Results Promising

Proof of concept was announced yesterday for a DNA-based Hepatitis C vaccine at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL 2009). In the ongoing Phase I/IIa clinical trial, 12 test subjects with HCV genotype I were given one of three test doses (or control) of the vaccine, in four monthly doses. No severe side effects were reported and viral loads were reduced in two patients from each of the two higher dose groups. If this kind of treatment, called in vivo electroporation, proves successful after further testing, it may help prevent the spread of HCV.

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ScienceDaily, April 24, 2009. First Evidence for DNA-Based Vaccination Against Chronic Hepatitis C.