On Nov. 16, 2020, INOVIO announced that it had received clearance from the FDA to proceed with the Phase 2 segment of its planned Phase 2/3 clinical trial for INO-4800, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The planned Phase 2/3 clinical trial, called INNOVATE (INOVIO INO-4800 Vaccine Trial for Efficacy), is a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled safety and efficacy trial of INO-4800 to be conducted in adults in the U.S.

The INNOVATE trial was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.