Acambis starts Phase II trial of Japanese encephalitis vaccine

UK-based biopharmaceutical company Acambis has initiated a Phase IItrial of its candidate Japanese encephalitis vaccine, ChimeriVax-JE. The trial is designed to establish the optimum dose and schedule of the vaccine, as well as to provide further information on its safety and immunogenicity, and will include 99 patients enrolled at a single study center.

A range of doses will be used, and each subject will receive either two inoculations of ChimeriVax-JE, one inoculation and a placebo and one shot of ChimeriVax followed by a dose of Aventis Pasteur's YF-VAX, an approved yellow fever vaccine. The latter arm will determine whether ChimeriVax-JE will have an inhibitory effect on subsequent vaccination against yellow fever.