PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA, USA I November 17, 2022 I INOVIO (NASDAQ: INO), a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing DNA medicines to help treat and prevent infectious diseases, cancer, and diseases associated with HPV, today announced that it has agreed with its collaborator, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to discontinue development of product candidates targeting Lassa Fever (INO-4500) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) (INO-4700), following initial analyses of data from studies conducted by INOVIO and funded by CEPI.

Dr. Jacqueline Shea, INOVIO’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “For the past four years, we have been pleased to collaborate with CEPI on its mission of accelerating the development of vaccines against epidemic and pandemic threats so that they can be accessible to all people in need. Although INO-4500 and INO-4700 were well-tolerated by participants in our clinical trials and generated immune responses, the two-dose regimen did not meet CEPI’s selection criteria for further development. We continue to believe in the potential of our DNA medicine candidates based on their characteristics, including the ability to elicit durable T-cell responses, which could be important in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. INOVIO welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with CEPI in the future.”

The INO-4500 Lassa Fever trial was a Phase 1b study involving 220 participants in Ghana. With this trial, INO-4500 was the first product candidate to enter human clinical trials in West Africa targeting Lassa Fever. The INO-4700 trial was a Phase 2 study targeting the prevention of MERS. The first cohort of the trial involved 192 participants in Jordan, Kenya, and Lebanon. INOVIO intends to publish data to aid subsequent research.

About INOVIO

INOVIO is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing DNA medicines to help treat and protect people from HPV-associated diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. INOVIO’s DNA medicines in development are delivered using its investigational proprietary smart device to produce immune responses against targeted pathogens and cancers. For more information, visit www.inovio.com.

SOURCE: Inovio