Meissa Vaccines said that it has started dosing participants in its Phase 2 trial of MV-012-968 intranasal live attenuated vaccine candidate against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). MV-012-968 is based on Meissa’s AttenuBlock platform, which it says is designed for “creating safe, potent, stable, and cost-effective intranasal vaccines.” The Phase 2 virus challenge study is expected to enroll as many as 70 adults aged 18 to 45 who will receive a single dose of MV-012-968.
In June 2020, Meissa announced positive results from a Phase 1a study of MV-012-968 in healthy adults and said that it was planning for the Phase 2 study in early 2021. The company says that it has positive preliminary data from its Phase 1b study of the vaccine in children with RSV and that it plans to initiate a Phase 1c study in infants not currently infected with RSV in the first half of 2021.
Meissa co-founder and CEO Martin Moore said, “We now have supportive clinical data in adult and pediatric populations showing our intranasal live attenuated vaccine candidate for RSV is well-tolerated and induces mucosal IgA, an important mechanism to protect against RSV infection. These two clinical studies, the Phase 2 challenge in sero-positive adults and the Phase 1c in sero-negative infants, are key milestones in developing a safe and effective RSV vaccine, which is a significant global health priority that could save thousands of lives and help millions of patients around the world.”
Read the Meissa Vaccines press release.
