GenVec, Inc. announced a $10-million one-year contract extension of its HIV vaccine development work with the Vaccine Research Centre (VRC), part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

The VRC will utilize GenVec's proprietary technologies for vaccine developm ent, including its production cell line, 293-ORF6, to design and test next generation vaccines to optimize the body's immune response to HIV. GenVec is working under a subcontract, issued and managed by SAIC-Frederick that now totals up to $40 million and extends through 2008.

C. Richter King, vice president of Research at GenVec, stated, "We are pleased to expand our work on developing an effective vaccine to slow or prevent the spread of AIDS. Together with the VRC, we are exploring the design of novel vaccines against the three major HIV strains present worldwide."

One vaccine candidate produced by GenVec is already being tested by the VRC in a phase 1 clinical study designed to assess it for safety and the ability to produce an immune response against HIV. Patient enrolment in this current trial has been completed. In addition to vaccine construction and production, the subcontract includes the use of GenVec's advanced scaleable production process to produce clinical grade HIV vaccine candidates for future NIAID trials, the company says.

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, over 36 million people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 21 million people have died as a result of infection with HIV/AIDS.

GenVec is a publicly held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapies that improve patient care in the areas of cancer and cardiac disease, and to prevent vision loss.