Helocyte’s ConVax program is a universal (non-HLA restricted) vaccine, which is designed to induce a robust and durable neutralizing antibody response to prevent transmission of CMV in utero. Convax is the first recombinant viral vector vaccine in development for congenital CMV incorporating all five gH/gL-pentamer complex subunits from human CMV (e.g., gH/gL/UL128/UL130/UL131A). The vaccine is comprised of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vector, which has been dosed safely in over 120,000 patients (young and old) and has been shown to be prolifically expressed and highly immunogenic. The ConVax program is currently undergoing nonclinical development. Nonclinical studies of ConVax completed to-date have demonstrated (among other important findings): (1) prevention of CMV infection of epithelial cells using the neutralizing antibody response induced in mice vaccinated with ConVax; (2) durability of neutralizing antibodies induced in mice vaccinated with ConVax, with NAbs stably detected for a period of at least 50 weeks following initial vaccination; and (3) prevention of CMV infection of epithelial cells and fibroblasts using neutralizing antibodies induced in rhesus macaques vaccinated with ConVax. For more information regarding non-clinical data generated to-date with ConVax, see
http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004524.