Inovio Biomedical To Present DNA Vaccine Overview At Scientific Meeting

Main Category: Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 16 Nov 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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Inovio Biomedical Corporation (AMEX:INO), a leader in enabling the development of DNA vaccines using electroporation-based DNA delivery, announced that Dr. Michael Fons, Vice President, Corporate Development, has been invited to present an overview of the company's technology and products at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists being held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. The presentation, scheduled for 2 p.m. PST on Wednesday, November 14th, is entitled "Devices Used for Nucleic Acid Delivery."

"Delivery of DNA vaccines and plasmid-based immunotherapy products has been one of the biggest challenges in the race to create new vaccines for cancers and chronic infectious diseases," stated Avtar Dhillon, MD, Inovio's CEO. "We are pleased to present our technology solution to this problem to the pharmaceutical scientist community and look forward to developing a number of vaccine products."

About Inovio's DNA Vaccine Technology

DNA vaccines 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 ability of Inovio's technologies to effectively deliver and significantly enhance the potency of such immunotherapies without the potential safety concerns of viral delivery systems.

Inovio's DNA-based immunotherapy products consist of DNA plasmids and electroporation-based DNA delivery systems. DNA plasmids are designed to express (produce) 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 induce a preventive or therapeutic immune response against the intended disease. Inovio's advanced electroporation devices facilitate delivery and expression of DNA vaccines to produce the desired antigens. Primate and/or interim Phase I data have shown significantly enhanced antibody and T-cell immune responses relative to plasmid DNA delivered by other methods, suggesting the potential to provide better preventive or therapeutic effects against complex infectious diseases and cancers.

Inovio is poised to deliver advanced DNA-based vaccines and 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 (AMEX:INO) is focused on developing multiple DNA-based vaccines and immunotherapies. Inovio is a leader in developing human applications of electroporation, using brief, controlled electrical pulses to increase cellular uptake of a useful biological material. Interim human data has shown that Inovio's DNA delivery technology can significantly increase gene expression and immune responses from DNA vaccines. Immunotherapy partners include Merck, Wyeth, Vical, University of Southampton, Moffitt Cancer Center, the U.S. Army, National Cancer Institute, and International Aids Vaccine Initiative. Inovio's technology is protected by an extensive patent portfolio covering in vivo electroporation.

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 and that results from one study may necessarily not be reflected or supported by the results of other similar studies), 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 nine months ended September 30, 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.

http://www.inovio.com