First new hepatitis B vaccine in more than 25 years

Dynavax Technologies Corporation announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved HEPLISAV-B [Hepatitis B Vaccine, Recombinant (Adjuvanted)] for prevention of infection caused by all known subtypes of hepatitis B virus in adults age 18 years and older. HEPLISAV-B is the first new hepatitis B vaccine in the United States in more than 25 years and the only two-dose hepatitis B vaccine for adults.

Hepatitis B is an extremely infectious and potentially deadly virus affecting a wide range of adults. There is no cure for hepatitis B, and infections are on the rise. Hepatitis B can be prevented through effective vaccination. Current hepatitis B vaccines require three shots over a six-month period, however, almost half of adults fail to complete the series within one year.

The approval of HEPLISAV-B was based on data from three Phase 3 non-inferiority trials of nearly 10,000 adult participants who received HEPLISAV-B. The pivotal studies compared HEPLISAV-B administered in two doses over one month to Engerix-B administered in three doses over a six-month schedule. Results from the largest Phase 3 trial, which included 6,665 participants, showed that HEPLISAV-B demonstrated a statistically significantly higher rate of protection of 95% compared with 81% for Engerix-B. In a subgroup analysis of 961 participants with Type 2 diabetes, HEPLISAV-B demonstrated a statistically significantly higher rate of protection of 90% compared to 65% for Engerix-B. Across the three clinical trials, the most common local reaction was injection site pain (23% to 39%). The most common systemic reactions were fatigue (11% to 17%) and headache (8% to 17%).

Dynavax expects to commercially launch HEPLISAV-B in the United States in the first quarter of 2018. In preparation for launch, Dynavax has been building commercial infrastructure and optimizing manufacturing processes to meet anticipated demand.