First proof of concept for Tripep's ChronVac-C

The first-proof-of-concept data for a DNA-based therapeutic vaccine against chronic hepatitis C, developed by Swedish pharmaceutical firm  Tripep, were reported at the annual meeting of the European Association  for the Study of the Liver in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the first clinical  trial of a therapeutic vaccination using naked DNA delivered by in  vivo electroporation, antiviral effects were shown in patients with  hepatitis C treated with Tripep's ChronVac-C.

Around 3% of the world's population is infected with the disease. In  industrialized countries, hepatitis C accounts for 70% of chronic  hepatitis cases. One of the main concerns is that HCV infection remains  asymptomatic until advanced stages of the disease, highlighting the  potential usefulness of a vaccine.

In the group treated with 167mcg of ChronVac-C, no severe side effects  were observed, two patients mounted transient T cell responses, and none  had a reduced viral load. In the 500mcg dose, no severe side effects  were observed, and two developed better sustained HCV-specific T cell  responses.