Developed by Immuno Cure, based in Hong Kong Science Park, ICVAX demonstrated “exceptional safety and promising immunogenicity profiles” during its first-phase clinical trial carried out at the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, the company said. Forty-five people took part in the trial.
Unlike traditional vaccines which are preventive, therapeutic vaccines are designed to be administered after an infection occurs. Most participants who received the optimal ICVAX dose saw a more than twofold jump in T-cell response, according to the firm. T cells, a type of white blood cells, attack and kill infected cells.
All reported “treatment-related adverse events” were mild, the company added.
A paramedic takes a blood sample from a baby for an HIV test at a Pakistani village. Photo: AFP
Immuno Cure said it plans to share its findings in scientific conferences and a peer-reviewed journal. Data from the first-phase trial will be submitted to regulatory agencies for review.
The second-phase trial is set to launch in mid-2025, and will expand to other medical institutions, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Phase 1 Clinical Trial Centre at the Prince of Wales Hospital, and Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital. Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital will also take part.
After the second-phase trial is completed, Immuno Cure plans to commercialise ICVAX and introduce it to the public around 2027 and 2028, provided that the firm succeeds in getting the vaccine approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration, a company representative said on Thursday.
Antiretroviral therapy is currently the standard care for people living with HIV. It involves taking medicine daily, and while it is effective in lowering death rates, it cannot get rid of the infection. An immunotherapy solution like ICVAX aims to completely suppress the virus to an undetectable level in blood for a prolonged period, according to Immuno Cure.
ICVAX could one day serve as an alternative to antiretroviral therapy and free patients from the burden of a daily drug regimen, said Edward Leong Che-hung, president of the Hong Kong Aids Foundation and chairman of the advisory board of Immuno Care.
“These results suggest that we may be on the brink of a breakthrough with a therapy that could enhance the quality of life for many [people living with HIV] and provide them a hope for functional cure in the longer term,” Leong said.
While it has yet to set a price for the vaccine, the company will reference existing HIV drugs in China and elsewhere, an Immuno Cure representative said.
Immuno Cure was founded in Hong Kong in 2015 and established its mainland Chinese headquarters in Beijing in 2022. In July last year, the company raised US$12 million in a funding round led by the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund’s Greater Bay Area Fund. Alibaba Group Holding owns the South China Morning Post.
The start-up will consider how fast to pursue an initial public offering after presenting substantial clinical data and achieving a higher valuation, and when the market environment becomes favourable, Immuno Cure CEO Jin Xia told the Hong Kong Economic Journal newspaper in August.
The global HIV drugs market is worth around US$36.22 billion in 2024, and is expected to grow to around US$66.16 billion by 2034, according to consultancy Precedence Research.
