Wellcome funds Prokarium's lead vaccine program

UK-based biotech firm Prokarium says it has received an investment of £4.59 million ($5.6 million) from the Wellcome Trust to fund two clinical trials of its lead program, Entervax, a bivalent vaccine against enteric fever.

The funding from Wellcome will be used for a Phase I study in the UK and a Phase Ib age-descending, dose-escalation study in an endemic region in South Asia. The Phase I study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the bivalent vaccine. The company plans to initiate dosing in the first half 2020.

“Funding from a prestigious foundation such as the Wellcome Trust underlines the strength of our approach and provides the support necessary to progress to the clinic,” said Ted Fjallman, chief executive of Prokarium, adding: “Entervax performed as expected in the preclinical and nonclinical models and we look forward to building on the results we observed previously with our monovalent typhoid vaccine candidate, ZH9. Enteric fever, primarily caused by Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A, is the most common bacterial bloodstream infection in South Asia and causes significant morbidity and mortality in areas with poor sanitation. Our oral vaccine candidate being developed for the prevention of enteric fever could provide a significant public health benefit for these at-risk populations in endemic regions and beyond.”