Inovio Pharmaceuticals Initiates Dosing in HIV Vaccine Study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. INO announced that it has dosed its first patient in a phase I/II study, evaluating its HIV vaccine Pennvax-GP’s ability to result in remission of HIV. The vaccine targets all major HIV strains with potential capacity to improve the human immune system and control HIV without antiretroviral therapy.

This HIV trial is part of a $6.95 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’sNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The primary goal of this study is to develop a single or a combination therapy with Pennvax-GP for long-term HIV remission in patients.

In May, Inovio announced that Pennvax-GP achievedalmost 100% immune response rates in a phase I HVTN 098 study.Per the company, Pennvax-GP demonstrated the highest overall levels of T cell and antibody immune response rates, ever demonstrated by an HIV vaccine on patients.

The latest study will evaluate if Pennvax-GP vaccine, either as a monotherapy or in combination with other antiretroviral therapies, could bring true remission of HIV in patients.

Notably, Inovio has no approved product in its portfolio and is heavily dependent on its partners for funding the development of its pipeline candidates. Its lead pipeline candidate, VGX-3100, is being evaluated for the treatment of cervical dysplasia.

VGX-3100, an HPV immunotherapy, is currently being assessed in a phase III analysis for the treatment of cervical dysplasia, caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Notably, VGX-3100 is the most advanced candidate in the company’s pipeline. Inovio is also conducting a pivotal phase III REVEAL program to evaluate the safety and efficacy of VGX-3100 for treating cervical dysplasia caused by HPV. Another phase II study is examining the efficacy of VGX-3100 on women with HPV-related vulvar neoplasia.

Apart from VGX-3100, Inovio has several candidates in its pipeline under early-to-mid-stage development.

In June, Inovio began a phase I/II trial to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity and preliminary efficacy of INO-5401 combined with Regeneron’s REGN cemiplimab on participants with newly-diagnosed glioblastoma. Inovio announced that it has dosed the first patient enrolled in its study.

Shares of Inovio have increased 7.3% year to date versus the industry’s decrease of 5%.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Inovio currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other two top-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector are Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD and Illumina, Inc. ILMN, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Gilead Sciences’ earnings estimates have been moved 7.7% north for 2018 and 2.2% for 2019 over the past 60 days. The stock has gained 4.5% year to date.

Illumina’s earnings estimates have been revised 11.1% upward for 2018 and 8.7% for 2019 over the past 60 days. The stock has soared 50.1% so far this year.

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