The potential of 1018 ISS adjuvant in hepatitis B vaccines HEPLISAV™ review

Hepatitis B (HBV) virus infects the liver, and upon chronic infection, can cause liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite universal vaccination programs against the virus, HBV still affects over 2 billion people worldwide, with over 240 million developing a chronic infection. While current alum-adjuvanted vaccines have shown efficacy in promoting seroprotection in healthy adults, 5-10% of immune-competent populations fail to achieve long-lasting seroprotection from these formulations. Furthermore, a large proportion of immunocompromised patients fail to achieve seroprotective antibody titers after receiving these vaccines. A novel vaccine candidate, HEPLISAV, uses immunostimulatory sequences (ISS), in its formulation that helps induce a robust humoral and cell mediated immunity against HBV. In Phase III clinical trials, HEPLISAV has been shown to elicit seroprotective antibody titers with fewer immunizations. Similar safety profiles are demonstrated when compared with current HBV vaccines. For these reasons, HEPLISAV is an attractive vaccine to combat this global disease.