SAN DIEGO, May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Inovio Biomedical Corporation , focused on the development of DNA-based DNA vaccines for cancers and infectious diseases and a novel alternative to surgery to treat localized cancers, announced today that the company will make multiple presentations regarding its electroporation-mediated DNA delivery technology at the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) being held in Seattle, WA, May 30 -- June 3 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center. Inovio’s DNA delivery systems are designed to enhance the potency of DNA-based immunotherapies and vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers.
Three of the five poster presentations discuss pre-clinical studies that evaluated immune responses to DNA vaccines directed against major infectious diseases including malaria, HIV and hepatitis C. In all cases Inovio’s electroporation technology significantly enhanced antibody and cellular immune responses when compared with traditional vaccine delivery methods. Two other Inovio presentations report innovations in the development of electroporation DNA delivery devices. These presentations include:
Immunogenicity of a Cytokine Enhanced Multi-Antigen pDNA Vaccine with and without In Vivo Electroporation in Rhesus Macaques
Authors: M. A. Egan, A. Luckay, I. Mathiesen, J. H. Eldridge, R. Kjeken Presenter: Rune Kjeken, PhD; Michael Egan, PhD (Wyeth) Poster Session I: Vaccinating against Pathogens Using Gene Delivery Poster #152 Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Hall 4AB
Enhancement of Antibody and Cellular Responses to Malaria DNA Vaccines by In Vivo Electroporation
Authors: Carlota Dobano, Georg Widera, Dietmar Rabussay, Denise L. Doolan Presenter: Dietmar Rabussay, PhD Poster Session I: Vaccinating against Pathogens Using Gene Delivery Poster #157 Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Hall 4AB
In Vivo Electroporation Promotes Intra-Muscular DNA Uptake, Protein Expression, and Inflammation at the Site of Injection, Which Greatly Enhances the Immunogenicity of Hepatitis C Virus Non-Structural 3/4A DNA
Authors: Gustaf N. Ahlen, Jonas Soderholm, Torunn Tjelle, Rune Kjeken, Iacob Mathiesen, Matti Sallberg Presenter: Jonas Soderholm, PhD Thursday, May 31, 2007 Poster Session I: Vaccinating against Pathogens Using Gene Delivery Poster #161 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Hall 4AB A Single-Needle Device for Electroporation-Enhanced DNA Delivery Authors: Feng Lin, Kate Broderick, Jonas Soderholm, Kristen Smits, Torunn E. Tjelle, Dietmar Rabussay, Iacob Mathiesen, Rune Kjeken Presenter: Feng Lin, PhD Poster Session II: Physical Methods of Delivery I Poster #504 Friday, June 1, 2007 5:15 pm - 8:15 pm Hall 4AB
A CE-Marked Automated Device for Electroporation-Enhanced DNA Delivery in Humans
Authors: Rune Kjeken, Iacob Mathiesen, Feng Lin, Lei Zhang, Dietmar Rabussay, Torunn E. Tjelle Presenter: Rune Kjeken, PhD Poster Session II: Physical Methods of Delivery I Poster #503 Friday, June 1, 2007 5:15 pm - 8:15 pm Hall 4AB
About Inovio’s Immunotherapy Products
DNA-based immunotherapy products have the potential to by-pass inherent scientific obstacles of conventional vaccines that prevent their development for cancer and chronic infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C. Pre- clinical data has indicated the potential ability of Inovio’s technologies to safely and effectively deliver and significantly enhance the potency of such immunotherapies.
Inovio’s DNA-based immunotherapy products consist of DNA plasmids and the Elgen and MedPulser DNA delivery systems. DNA plasmids are designed to express antigens that can induce an immune response specific to a cancer or infectious disease-causing organism. These plasmids are created synthetically and readily manufactured using well-established bacterial fermentation and purification technology. After a plasmid is delivered into muscle or tumor cells, production of the desired antigens may then induce a preventive or therapeutic immune response against the targeted disease. Inovio’s advanced electroporation devices facilitate delivery and expression of such immunotherapies and have been shown in primate studies to boost antibody and T-cell immune response by orders of magnitude over DNA plasmid alone, suggesting the potential to provide better protection from complex infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C as well as cancers such as prostate and breast cancers.
Inovio is poised to deliver advanced DNA-based immunotherapies, devices and know-how in this rapidly advancing field. The company is actively licensing its technology to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and supporting early stage clinical studies arising from its own research efforts or through academic collaborations.
About Inovio Biomedical Corporation
Inovio Biomedical is focused on commercializing its Selective Electrochemical Tumor Ablation (SECTA) therapy and development of multiple DNA-based immunotherapies using its delivery platform for gene-based treatments. SECTA is a local ablation therapy for solid tumors designed to selectively kill cancerous cells and minimize cosmetic or functional impacts to predominantly healthy tissue typically treated around a tumor. Inovio is moving its lead product, the MedPulser(R), through pre-marketing studies for head & neck and skin cancers in Europe, where it has CE Mark accreditation, a U.S. Phase III pivotal study for head and neck cancer, and a Phase I/II trial for breast cancer. Inovio’s DNA delivery partners include Merck, Wyeth, Vical, University of Southampton, Moffitt Cancer Center, and the U.S. Army, with four DNA-based immunotherapies in Phase I clinical studies. Inovio is a leader in developing human therapeutic applications of electroporation, which uses brief, controlled electrical pulses to increase both cellular uptake of a useful biopharmaceutical and, in the case of gene-based treatments, levels of gene expression. Inovio’s technology is protected by an extensive patent portfolio covering in vivo electroporation. More information is available at http://www.inovio.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our plans to develop our electroporation drug and gene delivery technology. Actual events or results may differ from our expectations as a result of a number of factors, including the uncertainties inherent in clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to, the fact that pre-clinical results referenced in this release may not be indicative of results achievable from testing in humans), the availability of funding to support continuing research and studies in an effort to prove safety and efficacy of Inovio’s technology as a delivery mechanism, the availability or potential availability of alternative therapies or treatments for the conditions targeted by Inovio or its collaborators , including alternatives that may be more efficacious or cost-effective than any therapy or treatment that Inovio and its collaborators hope to develop, evaluation of potential opportunities, issues involving patents and whether they or licenses to them will provide Inovio with meaningful protection from others using the covered technologies, whether such proprietary rights are enforceable or defensible or infringe or allegedly infringe on rights of others or can withstand claims of invalidity and whether Inovio can finance or devote other significant resources that may be necessary to prosecute, protect or defend them, the level of corporate expenditures, assessments of our technology by potential corporate or other partners or collaborators, capital market conditions, and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, our 10-Q for the three months ending March 31, 2007, and other regulatory filings. There can be no assurance that any product in our product pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured, or that final results of clinical studies will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market licensed products.
Inovio Biomedical Corporation
CONTACT: media, Jeff Richardson, +1-805-491-8313, or investors, BernieHertel, +1-858-410-3101, both of Inovio Biomedical Corporation
Web site: http://www.genetronics.com/
