PepVax Announces Filing of Provisional Patent Application for SMARTmid DNA Platform and Other Updates

BETHESDA, Md., March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PepVax, Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company, announced today that it has filed a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) pertaining to SMARTmid™ DNA platform. The Company is harnessing the power of the immune system to target a specific protein, MAGE A, in an effort to find a treatment for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

SMARTmid™ DNA platform is a fully synthetic method for producing plasmid vector particles for mammalian cell transduction and is a powerful template in which to build an immunotherapy for the treatment of MAGE-A antigen expressing tumors like TNBC. SMARTmid™ can also be used as a diagnostic tool for antigen expressing tumors.

A provisional patent application offers a patent applicant an option of filing without including a formal patent claim. The aim of a provisional patent application is to establish an early effective filing date, in addition to allowing the patent applicant or a licensee to ascribe the phrase "patent pending" to any product development and methodologies associated with the subject matter. Once converted into a U.S. non-provisional, the utility application will provide composition of matter protection for SMARTmid™ DNA platform. PepVax CSO, Dr. Anton Dormer, stated, "We strongly believe that SMARTmid™ is a powerful and flexible tool for drug development and delivery and we believe this patent will help us expand the capabilities of our own platform and therapeutic portfolio."

Moreover, PepVax announced today the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Mahesh Narayanan, will attend the Precision: Breast Cancer Summit in Boston, MA, from March 6-7^th, 2018. Mr. Narayanan will present on developing treatment for TNBC utilizing the multi-functional immunotherapeutic platform. Mr. Narayanan will also be attending the 5th Drug Discovery Innovation Program from May 24-25^th and the International Cancer Cluster Showcase-BIO 2018 on June 4^th, 2018, both in Boston, MA.