Inovio Biomedical Corp., a leader in enabling the development of DNA vaccines using electroporation-based DNA delivery, has granted Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, a worldwide non-exclusive license to its DNA delivery technology for intramuscular applications of certain therapeutic DNA vaccines.
Under the terms of the agreement, Inovio will receive from Wyeth a $4.5 million upfront license fee, annual license maintenance fees, research support, and up to $60 million in payments based on successful completion of clinical and regulatory milestones. Inovio would exclusively supply Wyeth with electroporation devices for the vaccines included in the license agreement and would receive royalties on the sale of products covered by the license.
"We are pleased to add Wyeth to the list of corporate partners using our enabling MedPulser DNA delivery system to develop DNA vaccines for the treatment of debilitating diseases caused by a variety of viruses," stated Avtar Dhillon, MD, president and CEO of Inovio. "We believe this speaks to the enabling capabilities of our technology, the breadth of our clinical experience as well as the strength of our DNA electroporation patent estate. We remain committed to commercializing our delivery technology with a top-tier vaccine company such as Wyeth as we strive to build the world's leading DNA vaccine delivery franchise."
DNA vaccines have the potential to by-pass the numerous problems that plague conventional vaccines. For example, DNA vaccines may be better in stimulating cellular immunity necessary to fight chronic infection or diseases such as cancer. Despite this promise, vaccination using DNA plasmids alone, without enhanced delivery, has not been shown to reach the threshold for clinical benefit.
Intramuscular delivery of DNA vaccines using Inovio's proprietary electroporation technology has been shown in primate studies to boost the immune response by orders of magnitude over DNA plasmid alone. Plasmid-based vaccines induced higher levels of antibodies and T-cell responses when delivered via electroporation, suggesting the potential to provide better protection from infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C.
Inovio Biomedical Corporation is a late stage biomedical company focused on a cancer ablation therapy and development of multiple DNA vaccines. Inovio is commercializing its proprietary Selective Electrochemical Tumour Ablation (SECTA) therapy and its delivery platform for gene-based treatments.