, /PRNewswire/ -- Virion Therapeutics, LLC, a developing , today announced positive immunologic and continued safety and tolerability data, from the first-ever human study of its novel, first-in-class, checkpoint modifier immunotherapy, VRON-0200, for HBV functional cure, , as a at the (The European Association for the Study of the Liver) in , Italy. These Phase safety data, on the first 13 chronically infected hepatitis B patients, on nucleos(t)ide antiviral therapy, all of whom received a single, low dose, intramuscular injection of VRON-0200, demonstrated that it was safe and well-tolerated, with no significant adverse events reported and no clinically relevant abnormalities in laboratory assessments, including liver function tests. In 9 patients who had at least 28 days of immunologic follow up, the majority (n=5) had increased T cell responses, post vaccination, with several maintaining responses above their baseline values out to day 91.
commented: "Patients with chronic HBV infection suffer from immune exhaustion. To date, immunomodulatory therapies, including therapeutic vaccination, have failed to stimulate HBV-specific T- and B-cell responses. These immunologic data are exciting because a single intramuscular injection of VRON-0200 was able to induce T cell responses in the majority of patients, most of whom had little, to no, documented immunity prior to vaccination.
Being able to stimulate T cells in this patient population, with a good safety profile and ease of .
