VIR-1111 HIV Vaccine Description
VIR-1111 HIV Vaccine is based on human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) that has been designed to elicit abundant T cells that recognize human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epitopes in a way that differs from prior HIV vaccines.
Oregon Health & Science University researchers uniquely designed VIR-1111 to elicit abundant and durable CD4 and CD8 T cells programmed to attack virus-infected cells.
The investigational vaccine VIR-1111 is being evaluated in humans through a clinical trial sponsored by San Francisco-based Vir Biotechnology. Vir licensed OHSU’s cytomegalovirus-based vaccine platform through a merger with OHSU spinoff company TomegaVax in 2017.
OHSU’s pre-clinical research into the cytomegalovirus-based HIV vaccine has shown it works well in nonhuman primates.
The cytomegalovirus-based vaccine platform’s development was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institutes of Health’s Office of the Director, and the National Cancer Institute. The vaccine platform was developed by a team of scientists at the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, including Jay Nelson, Ph.D., Klaus Frueh, Ph.D.; Scott Hansen, Ph.D.; and Louis J. Picker, M.D.
“Along with the many OHSU investigators who worked on this project over the years, we are very excited that this new vaccine platform is being evaluated in a clinical trial,” Picker and Frueh said in 2021. “This marks the first time that this new type of vaccine is being tested in humans. If successful, this approach will provide an entirely new set of tools for vaccine development.”
San Francisco-based Vir Biotechnology, Inc. is a clinical-stage immunology company that combines immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. - We are a clinical-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide and the cause of hundreds of billions of dollars of the economic burden each year.
VIR-1111 HIV Vaccine Indication
The VIR-1111 vaccine candidate is indicated to prevent the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
VIR-1111 is a subcutaneously administered HIV T cell vaccine based on HCMV that has been designed to elicit abundant T cells that recognize HIV epitopes in a way that differs from prior HIV vaccines.
VIR-1111 HIV Vaccine News
February 25, 2021 - Vir Biotechnology Provides Corporate Update and Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Financial Results. In January, the Company initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of VIR-1111, an investigational HIV T cell vaccine based on human cytomegalovirus. This proof-of-concept vaccine is designed to test the hypothesis that this new approach can elicit potentially protective immune responses that differ from other HIV vaccines, which, if observed, could potentially have utility in additional types of infections and other challenging areas, including cancer. Initial clinical data are anticipated in the second half of 2021.
January 6, 2021 - Vir Biotechnology Announces Initiation of Phase 1 Clinical Trial to Evaluate a Novel Vaccine Platform. “We are pleased to have initiated the first Phase 1 trial to evaluate our T cell platform, which explores the potential for immune-programmed vaccines to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases like HIV,” said Herbert “Skip” Virgin, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Vir. “If observed, a programmed immune response could be a significant step forward in the fight against HIV and the field of vaccines, with ramifications that could extend to other challenging areas like cancer immunotherapy.”
January 6, 2021 - An HIV vaccine candidate that Oregon Health & Science University researchers have been developing for the past two decades is being tested in people for the first time as part of the Phase 1 clinical trial. OHSU’s pre-clinical research into the cytomegalovirus-based HIV vaccine has shown it works well in nonhuman primates.
November 10, 2020 - Vir Biotechnology, Inc., a clinical-stage immunology company focused on treating and preventing serious infectious diseases, today provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020. The Company expects to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for VIR-1111, an HIV T cell vaccine based on human cytomegalovirus, in the fourth quarter of this year. This trial is designed to determine whether VIR-1111 elicits a specific type of T cell immune response to HIV, known as an HLA-E restricted immune response.
November 19, 2019 - Vir Biotechnology, Inc. provided a corporate update and reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019.
January 25, 2017 - A first-of-its-kind vaccine technology platform developed by renowned scientists at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, has been acquired by Vir Biotechnology, a San Francisco-based biotech startup backed by leading industry investor ARCH Venture Partners and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
September 11, 2013 - A study published in Nature found the experimental vaccine completely cleared SIV, a monkey form of HIV, in about half of the rhesus macaques that were vaccinated and exposed to the virus. 'These data provide compelling evidence for progressive clearance of a pathogenic lentiviral infection and suggest that some lentiviral reservoirs may be susceptible to the continuous effector memory T-cell-mediated immune surveillance elicited and maintained by cytomegalovirus vectors.'
VIR-1111 HIV Vaccine Clinical Trial
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04725877 VIR-1111: A Prototype Human CMV-based Vaccine for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Healthy Volunteers - Last Update Posted: January 27, 2021.
The randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 1 clinical trial evaluates the safety and immunogenicity (ability to induce an immune response) of VIR-1111. The trial enrolls healthy adults (ages 18 to 50) who are at low risk of HIV infection and previously infected with human cytomegalovirus. They will receive two doses of VIR-1111 or placebo given by subcutaneous injection and be assessed for safety, reactogenicity (common, expected adverse reactions following vaccination, such as pain and redness), tolerability, and immunogenicity.
