Promising Hep C Vaccine Trial

Researchers at Oxford report that their Hepatitis C vaccine trial has yielded promising results.

The aim of the Phase I trial was to determine whether the treatment was safe and to help plan future trials. Forty-one healthy patients were given the vaccine. Scientists said it produced a "very strong" immune response which lasted for at least a year and had no major side-effects. Prof Klenerman said: "The immune responses we've seen are exciting and we are beginning the next stage of trials. While we are hopeful, it could be a long road to any vaccine that protects people against hepatitis C." The next step will be to give the vaccine to people at-risk of hepatitis C infection to see whether it protects against the virus.

An estimated 170M people may be infected with Hepatitis C worldwide.