Avant’s Combination E. coli-Cholera Vaccine Enters Phase I

The Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will sponsor a Phase I study of Avant Immunotherapeutics’ Peru-15 pCTB, an investigational single-dose, oral vaccine designed to offer combined protection against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) and cholera.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, inpatient trial will enroll up to 64 adult volunteers and examine the safety and immunogenicity of a single dose of the vaccine at up to four escalating dose levels compared with placebo.

The study is expected to begin in early 2008, according to Avant.