DoD awards $71M contract to INOVIO in scale up of delivery devices for potential COVID-19 vaccine

Both INOVIO’s CELLECTRA 3PSP smart device and CELLECTRA 2000 devices will benefit from a $71 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), in the hopes of scaling up DNA delivery devices for the company’s potential COVID-19 vaccine, INO-4800.

Both devices deliver INO-4800 directly into the skin. This prompts the body’s immune system to respond. Details from phase 1 clinical studies will be available later this month, and a phase 2/3 efficacy trial does not begin until July/August. However, the DoD is hopeful enough to invest in large scale manufacturing for its delivery systems.

“This next generation smart device leverages the efficacy delivery and safety track record of an earlier version that has received CE mark certification and has been used in clinical trials to safely dose more than 2,000 patients in over 7,000 administrations of INOVIO’s DNA medicines,” INOVIO President and CEO J. Joseph Kim said. “The current DoD contract further supports INOVIO’s large-scale production of devices and arrays to deliver potentially hundreds of millions of doses of INO-4800 next year to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

CELLECTRA 3PSP is a small, portable, hand-held device that can be used as long as one has AA batteries. INOVIO’s San Diego device manufacturing facility has produced initial quantities and demonstrated that its manufacturing processes can be transferred to contract manufacturers to increase supply. The device has been in development since 2019 when it received another $8.1 million from the government.

All CELLECTRA devices utilize an electrical pulse to peel open small pores in cells that allow plasmids to enter. From there, DNA plasmids enter the cell to produce the targeted antigen and begin the response process.