First Healthy Volunteer Dosed in Symvivo’s Phase 1 Clinical Trial of bacTRL-Spike™, an Oral COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

BURNABY, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Symvivo Corporation, a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a proprietary bacTRL™ gene delivery platform, today announced the enrollment and dosing of the first healthy volunteer in a clinical trial in Australia evaluating its bacTRL-Spike™ oral vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19.

“We are exceptionally pleased to commence dosing of our oral DNA vaccine for COVID-19 as we continue scale-up and manufacturing activities for future clinical development,” said Eric Sievers, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Symvivo Corporation. “The rapidly advancing pandemic mandates innovative scientific approaches and we believe a safe, protective oral vaccine could transform the landscape of traditional vaccination approaches, eliminating the need for syringes, needles, and trained vaccinators.”

The Phase 1 trial, Evaluating the Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of bacTRL-Spike™ Vaccine for Prevention of COVID-19 (NCT04334980), is being conducted in partnership with Nucleus Network in Brisbane, Australia. Associate Professor Paul Griffin, infectious diseases physician and microbiologist at Nucleus Network, is the primary investigator. The study will evaluate safety and preliminary evidence of immunogenicity to SARS CoV-2 elicited by bacTRL-Spike™ among healthy volunteers. Preliminary data are anticipated in early 2021.

Unlike traditional vaccines that are delivered by intramuscular injection, bacTRL-Spike™ is taken orally, providing the potential for individuals to self-administer the vaccine rather than requiring a trained medical professional.

About Symvivo

Symvivo is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a proprietary platform for the site-specific delivery of genes for the treatment and prevention of life-threatening diseases. Symvivo’s bacTRL™ platform technology delivers plasmid DNA, both orally and through IV application, that enables a patient’s own cells to produce therapeutic proteins. Symvivo is advancing therapeutics in the area of oral DNA vaccines, oncology (NCT04025307), immunology and protein therapy. Symvivo is headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.symvivo.com.