Inovio says COVID-19 vaccine produces antibodies in mice, guinea pigs

FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a "Vaccine COVID-19" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - U.S. immunotherapy company Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc on Wednesday said its experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus infection was shown to produce protective antibodies and immune system responses in mice and guinea pigs.

"We saw antibody responses that do many of the things we would want to see in an eventual vaccine," said Dr. David Weiner, director of the vaccine and immunotherapy center at the Wistar Institute, which has collaborated with Inovio. "We are able to target things that would prevent the virus from having a safe harbor in the body."