BLUE BELL, Pa., Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: INO), a leader in the development of synthetic vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that the company is one of four firms recognized as “Life Sciences Company of the Year” in a tri-state competition sponsored by the Philadelphia Business Journal. In addition, Inovio’s President and CEO, Dr. J. Joseph Kim, has been named “Life Sciences CEO of the Year,” sharing this year’s award with Dave Holveck, Endo Pharmaceutical; Jane Hollingsworth, NuPathe, Inc.; and Vincent Milano, ViroPharma, Inc. These awards are part of the Journal’s Life Sciences Awards, a program recognizing the region’s “medical miracle makers for their innovative approaches to improving the delivery of health care.”
The award recognizes leaders from the region’s biotech, pharmaceutical and medical-device companies as well as the incubators and economic development and research facilities that support innovations in human health. Winners were selected by an independent panel of judges.
Inovio is developing its revolutionary synthetic consensus immunogen technologies to extend the profound medical benefits of the 20th century’s immune-system-stimulating vaccines by preventing and treating today’s cancers and challenging infectious diseases. Its SynCon® vaccines are designed to provide universal cross-strain protection against known as well as newly emergent unmatched strains of pathogens such as influenza.
Dr. Kim became the CEO of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in June 2009 upon the completion of its merger with VGX Pharmaceuticals, a company he co-founded. Previously, Dr. Kim led efforts at Merck & Co in manufacturing and process development of several FDA-approved products for hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. He co-founded VGX in December 2000 as a start-up based on technology licensed from the University of Pennsylvania and was VGX’s CEO. In a span of less than 10 years, Dr. Kim has guided the advancement of a new type of vaccine, called a synthetic vaccine, from early research into Phase II clinical trials.
Dr. Kim said, “Inovio is proud to receive recognition as a Life Sciences Company of the Year in the Philadelphia region. This award validates our approach to discover, develop and commercialize a new generation of vaccines synthetic vaccines that hold the promise to treat and prevent HIV, seasonal and pandemic influenza, and cervical cancer, along with other challenging diseases.”
About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Inovio is developing its revolutionary synthetic consensus immunogen technologies to extend the profound medical benefits of the 20th century’s immune-system-stimulating vaccines by preventing and treating today’s cancers and challenging infectious diseases. Its SynCon® vaccines are designed to provide universal cross-strain protection against known as well as newly emergent unmatched strains of pathogens such as influenza. These synthetic vaccines, in combination with Inovio’s proprietary electroporation delivery method, have been shown in humans to be safe and generate best-in-class immune responses. Inovio’s clinical programs include Phase II studies for cervical dysplasia/cancer, leukemia and hepatitis C virus and Phase I studies for influenza and HIV. Partners and collaborators include the University of Pennsylvania, Merck, ChronTech, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, NIH, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, University of Southampton, US Dept. of Homeland Security and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. More information is available at www.inovio.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our business, including our plans to develop electroporation-based drug and gene delivery technologies and DNA vaccines and our capital resources. Actual events or results may differ from the expectations set forth herein as a result of a number of factors, including uncertainties inherent in pre-clinical studies, clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to, the fact that pre-clinical and clinical results referenced in this release may not be indicative of results achievable in other trials or for other indications, that the studies or trials may not be successful or achieve the results desired, that results from one study may not necessarily be reflected or supported by the results of other similar studies and that results from an animal study may not be indicative of results achievable in human studies), the availability of funding to support continuing research and studies in an effort to prove safety and efficacy of electroporation technology as a delivery mechanism or develop viable DNA vaccines, the adequacy of our capital resources, the availability or potential availability of alternative therapies or treatments for the conditions targeted by the company or its collaborators, including alternatives that may be more efficacious or cost-effective than any therapy or treatment that the company and its collaborators hope to develop, evaluation of potential opportunities, issues involving product liability, issues involving patents and whether they or licenses to them will provide the company 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 the company can finance or devote other significant resources that may be necessary to prosecute, protect or defend them, the level of corporate expenditures, assessments of the company’s technology by potential corporate or other partners or collaborators, capital market conditions, our ability to successfully integrate Inovio and VGX Pharmaceuticals, the impact of government healthcare proposals and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, our Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2011, and other regulatory filings from time to time. There can be no assurance that any product in Inovio’s pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured, that final results of clinical studies will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market licensed products, or that any of the forward-looking information provided herein will be proven accurate.
CONTACTS:
Investors: Bernie Hertel, Inovio Pharmaceuticals 858-410-3101 bhertel@inovio.com
Media: Jeff Richardson, Richardson & Associates 805-491-8313 jeff@richardsonglobalpr.com
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SOURCE Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
