Finland:   EHVA starts recruiting participants to clinical trial testing FIT Biotech’s vaccine

European EHVA-vaccine alliance (European HIV Vaccine Alliance, EHVA) starts clinical trials including FIT Biotech Oy’s (“Company”, FITBIO: FN Finland) therapeutic HIV vaccine candidate, FIT-06 by initiating recruitment of participants in Switzerland.

Evaluation of the safety and preliminary efficacy of FIT Biotech’s FIT-06 vaccine is scheduled to start in six European countries in a multicentric phase I/II trial coordinated by EHVA. The clinical study will evaluate in participants living with HIV a prime-boost vaccination regimen of FIT-06 with an MVA-based vaccine candidate (developed by the French research institute ANRS) in combination with an immunotherapy drug. FIT-06 is used as the priming vaccine to induce immune responses. Clinical trial applications have been approved in Great Britain and Switzerland. Additional trial approvals are expected in four other EU-countries. The final study results are anticipated to become available in 2021.

CEO Erkki Pekkarinen comments:
“Commencing the clinical trial evaluating FIT-06 by starting participant recruitment marks a major milestone for FIT Biotech. We are extremely proud of our pivotal role in the EHVA-consortium and its research for therapeutic HIV vaccines. Subject to the outcome of the clinical trial, a new therapy may be developed as an alternative to conventional therapy with antiviral drugs. Our objective is to offer people living with HIV a cost-effective, efficacious and safe treatment with no need for daily intake of antiviral drugs. Positive results would also represent an important breakthrough for FIT Biotech in business development, future product development as well as commercialization.”

Worldwide, almost 37 million people are living with HIV and approximately 2 million new infections occur every year. The Company’s clinical stage candidate FIT-06 aims to contribute to addressing challenges of standard therapies that include restricted access to medication, continuous patient retention in lifelong therapy, social stigma and side effects. There is a need to provide a safer and more cost-effective alternative to current HIV therapies.

For further information please visit: http://www.ehv-a.eu/news

FIT BIOTECH Oy
Board of Directors

For further information:
CEO Erkki Pekkarinen
Tel: +358 44 027 0080
E-mail: [email protected]