EXCLUSIVE: Ocean Biomedical's JV Partner Virion Therapeutics Dosed First Patients In Novel Immunotherapy Study For Chronic Hepatitis B

Ocean Biomedical, Inc. OCEA announces that its joint venture partner, Virion Therapeutics, has dosed its first patient in the Phase 1b clinical trial of its investigational VRON-0200 immunotherapy.

Virion Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel T cell-based immunotherapies. VRON-0200 immunotherapy is being evaluated as a functional cure for patients with chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.  

VRON-0200, a pioneering therapy, leverages Virion's proprietary checkpoint modifiers to enhance and broaden patients' own immune responses. 

This innovative approach may address a major challenge in treating chronic HBV - immune exhaustion. 

The Phase 1b trial for VRON-0200 is enrolling participants in Hong Kong and New Zealand, with plans to expand to the United States. Initial clinical data from this study are expected in early 2024. 

Dr. Sue Currie, COO of Virion, remarked, "The mechanism by which VRON-0200 operates represents an entirely novel approach compared to previous investigations or ongoing developments by others. We eagerly await the first clinical data from this program in early 2024."

Recently, OCEA announced that its Chief Scientist, Jonathan Kurtis MD, PhD, has received the prestigious Falk Medical Research Trust Transformational Award to advance a new class of anti-malarial drug candidates.

Price Action: OCEA shares are trading lower by 2.89% at $1.68 premarket on the last check Thursday.