Dive Brief:
- Inovio stock was up about 6% at market opening Wednesday after it announced its experimental Zika vaccine had "induced robust and durable immune responses" in mice.
- The company is one of numerous pharmaceutical firms attempting to develop a vaccine for Zika, which is rapidly spreading worldwide.
- Inovio is developing the vaccine in conjunction with academic partners and GeneOne Life Sciences.
Dive Insight:
The race to market is on for a Zika vaccine, and Inovio is one of a number of firms moving on the front. WHO says at least 15 companies and academic groups are attempting to create a vaccine, and with Zika's long-term impact still unclear, the sense of urgency is obvious.
"With robust antibody and killer T cell responses generated by our vaccine in mice, we will next test the vaccine in non-human primates and initiate clinical product manufacturing," Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio's president and CEO, said in a company news release Wednesday.
The news, while positive, doesn't necessarily mean Inovio is closest to market with a Zika vaccine. BioPharma Dive reported last week that India-based Bharat Biotech already is developing two Zika vaccine candidates. Sanofi and Takeda are among the othe pharma giants working to develop a vaccine, while Pfizer and Merck say they plan to analyze their existing portfolios for crossover potential.