Bavarian Nordic announces Phase 1 trial for yellow fever vaccine

Bavarian Nordic A/S initiated its Phase 1 clinical trial of MVA-BN YF on Tuesday to protect against yellow fever virus.

The vaccine is primarily based off of Bavarian Nordic’s proprietary MVA-BN platform. The study was sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“We are very pleased to see the advancement of this novel vaccine into human studies,” Paul Chaplin, president and CEO of Bavarian Nordic, said. “Clearly there remains an unmet medical need in the protection of populations who are at risk from potential outbreaks like yellow fever. Now more than ever it is clear that proactive vaccine development is required for both existing and emerging threats to public health. We are excited to expand the scope of our MVA-BN technology and look forward to exploring its potential further. We remain a dedicated partner to the NIH and the U.S. government, and look forward to assisting as needed.”

A preclinical study demonstrated that the vaccine candidate provided complete protection against infection with the virus in hamsters. Those studies suggested that combining MVA-BN with ISA 720, an adjuvant that has been used in prior clinical trials, induced a strong immune response after just a single dose of the vaccine.

Yellow fever is found in tropical and subtropical areas in South American and Africa, causing an estimated 29,000 to 60,000 deaths in 2013 alone.