Canadian biopharmaceutical firm IMV has selected a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, DPX-COVID-19, that it will advance to human trials this summer.

The vaccine is a DPX-based formulation of multiple peptides of SARS-CoV-2 that generated strong immune responses at the preclinical stage. The vaccine is fully synthetic, so it has the potential for rapid and large-scale manufacturing.

IMV expects to initiate a phase 1 trial testing the vaccine in 84 healthy volunteers this summer.