GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Iomai Corporation has made significant strides in its program to create crucial vaccine and immunostimulant patches that can be used to protect patients in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza. Russell P. Wilson, Iomai’s Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel, detailed those advances today in a presentation at the Rodman & Renshaw 3rd Annual Security, Biodefense & Connectivity Investor Conference in New York.
Iomai has accelerated its pandemic flu activities and, in May, responded to a U.S. government Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking to fund new technologies that would help extend what is expected to be a limited supply of available vaccine in the event of a global influenza outbreak, such as one caused by the H5N1 avian influenza strain. Iomai’s technology is based on transcutaneous immunization (TCI) and employs a novel skin patch to deliver immunostumulating adjuvants -- agents that can help boost a vaccine -- that would allow public health officials to institute the recommended “dose- sparing” strategy to expand the supply of pandemic flu vaccine by reducing the dose amount required to reach protective levels.
The Iomai technology is designed to be used with any manufactured influenza vaccine, offering the potential for universal applicability. This will be a key element in allowing the government to respond immediately and vaccinate the greatest number of people. If Iomai is awarded the government contract to work on the immunostimulant patch, Solvay Pharmaceuticals has agreed to provide the necessary pandemic influenza vaccine for use in preclinical and clinical testing.
In addition to information presented by Wilson in New York, Iomai’s Chief Scientific Officer, Gregory Glenn, M.D., will present data from the company’s studies at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum Amsterdam 2006 on Wednesday, June 21. Dr. Glenn’s presentation will discuss development studies showing that both the company’s influenza vaccine and immunostimulant adjuvant patch are stable for 6 months at room temperature and recent preliminary results from an Iomai clinical trial demonstrating that the vaccine patch can be self-applied by patients, not just by healthcare providers.
“We have demonstrated our ability to innovate to meet public health needs,” said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Iomai. “We believe our immunostimulant technology could boost the immune response to a given dose of influenza vaccine, potentially allowing much smaller doses of vaccine to be administered. Additionally, the data from these studies form the basis for our development of a needle-free vaccine patch that could be stockpiled, mailed and self-applied -- all important considerations in the event of a pandemic.”
About Iomai Corporation
Iomai Corporation discovers and develops vaccines and immune system stimulants, delivered via a novel, needle-free technology called transcutaneous immunization (TCI). TCI taps into the unique benefits of a major group of antigen-presenting cells found in the outer layers of the skin (Langerhans cells) to generate an enhanced immune response. Iomai is leveraging TCI to enhance the efficacy of existing vaccines, develop new vaccines that are viable only through transcutaneous administration and expand the global vaccine market. Iomai currently has four product candidates in development: three targeting influenza and pandemic flu and one to prevent E. coli-related travelers’ diarrhea. For more information on Iomai, please visit www.iomai.com.
Some matters discussed in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements about the ability of Iomai’s patches to stimulate stronger immune responses and to function as a dose-sparing approach to vaccination, that DHHS may select Iomai’s approach for further funding and development; the applicability of Iomai’s approach to governmental public health needs; the likelihood and timing of Iomai’s ability to reach commercial production of its immunostimulant patch; the ability of Iomai’s products to be stable, mail-able and capable of self-application; and Iomai’s plans to develop a needle-free pandemic influenza vaccine. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, that results in future clinical trials may not replicate results seen in the trials described in this press release; that Iomai may not be able to enroll sufficient numbers of patients in future clinical trials; that Iomai may not have sufficient or timely access to pandemic influenza vaccine to conduct its immunostimulant program; Iomai may be unable to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to conduct additional clinical trials; that Iomai may encounter substantial difficulties in attempting to scale-up its manufacturing capacity; that development costs may exceed expectations; that Iomai may fail to adequately protect its intellectual property or may be determined to infringe on the intellectual property of others; and the risks identified under the heading “Risk Factors: in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, both of which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Iomai cautions investors and others not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read the Company’s filings for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.
These statements speak only as of the date of this document, and Iomai undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements.
Iomai Corporation
CONTACT: Russell P. Wilson, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officerand General Counsel, of Iomai Corporation, +1-301-556-4478 orinvestors@iomai.com; or Jennifer Larson of WeissComm Partners, Inc.,+1-415-409-2729 or jlarson@weisscommpartners.com, for Iomai Corporation
Web site: http://www.iomai.com//
