Just a day after Tekmira Pharmaceuticals TKMR announced that it has been given the "compassionate use" clause for its TKM-Ebola Vaccine, Inovio Pharmaceuticals INO  has decided that it wants to start testing its own Ebola vaccine. My article on Tekmira's TKM-Ebola Vaccine can be seen here: Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Just Keeps On Shining With Ebola Drug. 

Although Inovio Pharmaceuticals will start later in its clinical trial doesn't mean that it will lag behind. Matter of fact, Inovio's vaccine technology has already been validated in a phase 2 clinical trial against cervical dysplasia. Cervical Dysplasia are pre-cancerous cells that form on the female's cervix , and Inovio has reported at least 50% efficacy using the VGX-3100 vaccine. On the flip side Tekmira hasn't validated its LNP -- Lipid nanoparticle -- technology on its own phase 2 trial thus far. To be specific, a lot of testing will still need to be done on Tekmira's TKM-Ebola vaccine and Inovio's Ebola vaccine before it is determined which provides more efficient efficacy. 

Inovio has chosen not to go alone in its production for an effective Ebola vaccine. It was announced today that Inovio would collaborate with GeneOne Life Science in early 2015 to start testing humans infected with the Ebola virus. One thing to note though is that Inovio owns a minority stake in GeneOne Life Science and both will run a phase 1 trial together, but additional funding will need to be done by a third party interested in carrying the development forward. Pre-Clinical studies for Inovio's Ebola vaccine have already shown to work in clearing the Ebola virus completely in mice with the ability of the mice to maintain their weight level.

Inovio may be able to find someone easily because the company's Syncon DNA vaccine technology is far more unique than other DNA vaccine companies. That is because the T-cells that go out and destroy the disease that is being targeted (in this instance Ebola virus) destroy all strains of the Ebola virus -- that is, Inovio's technology doesn't just go after one strain of the Ebola virus, but can also go after mutated strains of the virus. That's what makes Inovio's technology so adaptive to each particular disease. This is an important point because the current Ebola virus has been mutating to different strains. This means that even if a vaccine or drug is developed by another company  to treat the current strain, it doesn't automatically mean it will work for future mutated strains. Therefore Inovio Pharmaceuticals is in a more adaptive state compared to other biotechnology companies when it come to developing a more efficient Ebola treatment.