PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.,
Nov. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INO) announced today
its newest DNA-based cancer immunotherapy targeting melanoma
induced a robust and broad immune response in animals and directed
cancer-killing T cells against tumors. These results further
demonstrate the power and utility of Inovio's synthetic DNA-based
immunotherapy platform focused on cancers and challenging
infectious diseases.
In this study, Inovio developed a synthetic DNA immunotherapy
encoding the tyrosinase gene which is highly expressed in nearly
80% of melanoma tumor cells. Researchers found in mice that the
tyrosinase-targeting DNA immunotherapy was very effective in
infiltrating the tumor site, where it prevented tumors, controlled
tumor growth, and changed the tumor micro-environment by "turning
off" cells that suppress T-cell activity. Inovio's therapy also
increased survival in melanoma-challenged mice versus a control
group.
Study results appear in the online issue of the journal Cancer
Gene Therapy in an article authored by Inovio researchers and their
collaborators, entitled: "Novel and enhanced anti-melanoma DNA
vaccine targeting the tyrosinase protein inhibits myeloid derived
suppressor cells (MDSC) and tumor growth in a syngeneic
prophylactic and therapeutic murine model."
Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and
CEO, said, "Our active immunotherapy technology provides DNA code
for one or more pertinent cancer or infectious disease antigens,
enabling the body to produce sufficient antigen to trigger a
robust, targeted disease-fighting immune response. This unique
approach is simple yet powerful. With positive phase II efficacy
data already reported from our lead program for HPV pre-cancers and
cancers this past summer and two additional cancer immunotherapies
(INO-1400 and INO-5150) approaching their first human study, we
continue to add cancer-specific antigens that can be used alone or
combined into active immunotherapies for essentially every cancer.
We are pleased to add melanoma to our cancer pipeline, which
already includes products targeting cervical, head and neck,
prostate, breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers."
Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancers diagnosed
in the United States, with an
estimated 2 million new cases annually. Melanoma is the most deadly
type of skin cancer, leading to 75% of all skin cancer related
deaths due to systemic metastatic spread. Of the 76,000 new
Melanoma diagnoses estimated to occur in 2014, approximately 12%
will have progressed to stage III or IV melanoma already with a
5-year survival rate of only 15%. Even today, treatment options for
melanoma remain limited.
About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Inovio is revolutionizing the fight against cancer and
infectious diseases. Our immunotherapies uniquely activate
best-in-class immune responses to prevent and treat disease, and
have shown clinically significant efficacy with a favorable safety
profile. With an expanding portfolio of cancer immunotherapies and
clinical studies, the company is advancing a growing product
pipeline. Partners and collaborators include Roche, MedImmune, the
University of Pennsylvania, DARPA,
Drexel University, NIH, HIV Vaccines
Trial Network, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV
Research Program, US Dept. of Homeland Security, and University of Manitoba. For more information, visit
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, our expectations regarding our research and development
programs 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, including safety and efficacy for VGX-3100, that
pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may not commence or be
completed in the time periods anticipated, 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,
our ability to support our broad pipeline of SynCon® active immune
therapy and vaccine products, our ability to advance our portfolio
of immune-oncology products independently, including INO-5150, and
to commence a phase I clinical trial for INO-5150 in the first half
of 2015, 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, our ability to enter into
partnerships in conjunction with our research and development
programs, 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, 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, 2013, our Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 30, 2014, 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, Inovio
Pharmaceuticals, 267-440-4211, jrichardson@inovio.com
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SOURCE Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.