Hawaii Biotech Initiates Phase I West Nile Vaccine Trial

Hawaii Biotech has initiated a Phase I clinical trial study with its West Nile vaccine candidate. The study, being conducted with healthy subjects, is the first clinical trial for the company.

This clinical study, which will be recruiting volunteers for four treatment groups, is being conducted at a Phase I trial site in Honolulu. Results should be known within a year, the company said.

The first phase of a clinical development program is designed to assess safety, determine a dosage range and identify potential side effects. There are two additional clinical phases prior to FDA registration and a fourth post-marketing phase to gain additional information.

The Hawaii Biotech West Nile vaccine candidate is a recombinant sub-unit vaccine developed with the intent to induce protective immunity in recipients.

Elliot Parks, president and CEO of Hawaii Biotech, said: “This clinical study is an important milestone in Hawaii Biotech’s maturation into a clinical stage company.”