Vical's Vaxfectin to be studied for HIV DNA vacc

San Diego, USA-based Vical has entered a research collaboration with Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, a leading European medical university, and the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, a governmental expert agency, to evaluate its Vaxfectin adjuvant with its Biojector 2000 needle-free injection system as part of a multivalent preventive DNA vaccine against HIV.

Eric Sandstrom, professor at the Karolinska Institute, said, "the results from our initial Phase I trial were quite good, with over 90% of subjects achieving detectable immune responses against HIV after the prime-boost vaccination. We hope to improve the breadth and magnitude of immune responses in the next clinical trial by using the Vaxfectin adjuvant with our DNA priming vaccine. We believe that continued development of HIV vaccines remains among the world's top health care priorities."