CanSino Biologics has received approval from Health Canada to initiate Phase I trials of aerosol inhalation and intramuscular injection versions of CS-2032 zoster vaccine (the recombinant zoster vaccine (Adenovirus Vector)).
Both trials will assess the preliminary immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine candidate and will be carried out simultaneously overseas.
Compared to Shingrix, a recombinant zoster vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, the Adenovirus Vector showed a higher systemic cellular response in pre-clinical studies.
Despite this, no significant difference in humoral immunity was observed in comparison to Shingrix.
The company said it will not give assurance for the development and commercialisation of its CS-2032 zoster vaccine.
To improve the safety of the final product, no animal derived ingredients have been used.
The vaccine candidate uses ChAdOx1 Vector technology and has been developed in collaboration with Vaccitech.
In June this year, a Phase IIb randomised, open-label HBV003 trial of VTP-300 in chronic hepatitis B (cHBV) patients was initiated by Vaccitech across multiple sites in the Asia-Pacific region.
The trial assessed the safety and immune response of VTP-300, which consists of a modified vaccinia Ankara-vectored hepatitis B virus immunotherapeutic (MVA-HBV), and chimpanzee adenovirus Oxford 1-vectored hepatitis B virus immunotherapeutic (ChAdOx1-HBV).
It assessed VTP-300, with additional doses of the MVA-HBV component, combined with Opdivo and nucleoside analogues.
