Seoul hospital to conduct clinical trial for Inovio's COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate

SEOUL -- The safety and efficacy of IN0-4800, a COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals, an American biotechnology company, will be checked in clinical trials by a prominent state hospital in South Korea. Clinical trials will begin this month.

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) won approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a public health watchdog, for Phase 1 and 2 trials in South Korea. Under a contract with the institute, INO-4800 will be administered to 40 adults to verify safety. Seoul National University Hospital will acquire immune response data in an experiment on 120 people.

Inovio has promoted INO-4800 as a promising COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The company has assembled a global coalition of collaborators, partners and funders to rapidly advance INO-4800.

IVI's deal with Seoul National University Hospital came a day after South Korea unveiled a road map to develop plasma treatment by the year's end as well as antibody treatment and vaccines next year through active clinical research.