Strong animal and human data for VaxGen's LC16m8

USA-based VaxGen has reported new non-clinical and clinical data on its attenuated smallpox vaccine candidate, LC16m8, which it says indicate that it may represent "a viable replacement for the conventional smallpox vaccine currently in the US Strategic National Stockpile."

The finding, presented at the February 13 American Society of Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting in Washington DC, showed that LC16m8 was 100% protective in preclinical poxvirus challenge models and in a Phase II clinical trial comparing a single dose of LC16m8 to a single dose of US drug major Wyeth's non-attenuated Dryvax, in 153 vaccinia-naive volunteers, LC16m8 showed a good safety profile and was well-tolerated

The California-headquartered firm noted that the product is a cloned virus vaccine produced in cell culture that has been shown to be less neurovirulent than unattenuated strains of vaccinia vaccines in preclinical models.