Genetronics Inc has extended a collaborative agreement with Chiron Corporation to conduct additional experiments using Electroporation, Genetronics' proprietary technology, to test an HIV DNA vaccine.Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The purpose of the extended agreement is to test the combination of the two companies' leading edge technologies in an effort to develop a vaccine against HIV, the causative agent of AIDS.Based on the success of the previous studies, Chiron now plans to include more advanced studies in large animals as a prelude to possible future clinical development of a DNA vaccine for HIV.In addition to the studies covered by this Agreement, Genetronics and Chiron have a collaborative relationship, which explores electroporation assisted delivery of a second DNA vaccine for an unnamed target indication.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) indicates that in less than 20 years after HIV and AIDS were identified, AIDS has become the most important infectious disease, the first cause of death in Africa, and the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.More than 15,000 new HIV infections occur every day, most of them in developing countries, and over 33 million people now live with HIV or AIDS.