Intercell starts trial of pneumococcus vaccine

VIENNA, April 7 (Reuters) - Austrian vaccine maker Intercell (ICEL.VI: 株価, 企業情報, レポート) is starting to test on humans a vaccine candidate to prevent diseases caused by pneumococcus bacteriae in a phase I clinical trial, the company said on Tuesday. The trial is a first-in-man study to obtain safety and immunogenicity data for Intercell's IC47 candidate in a population of 32 healthy adults, Intercell said in a statement.

Pneumococcus -- or Streptococcus pneumoniae -- bacteriae cause infections including meningitis and pneumonia, especially in small children and the elderly, and according to the WHO kill 1 million children under the age of 5 per year, Intercell said. (Reporting by Boris Groendahl;Editing by Hans Peters)