GenVec, Inc. has entered into a collaborative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the US Military Malaria Vaccine Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) for the development and pre-clinical testing of a malaria vaccine candidate against Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax).

More than 50 percent of malaria cases in US military personnel are caused by P. vivax, which is debilitating upon primary infection and can cause recurrent illness years after infection occurs. This malaria strain has a significant negative impact on world economic productivity and is a major threat to military preparedness.

In addition to the CRADA, GenVec has signed a one-year contract with the Department of Defense to construct and test the adenovector-based vaccine, which carries a novel proprietary antigen against P. vivax developed by WRAIR scientists. GenVec and its collaborators will jointly design pre-clinical studies to evaluate the immunogenicity of the adenovector and WRAIR's recombinant sub-unit vaccine in various combination prime/boost vaccination strategies.

"We are very pleased to enter this new collaboration with two of the world's leading malaria vaccine development institutions," stated C. Richter King, Ph.D., GenVec's senior vice president of research. "GenVec has a well-established, successful collaboration with the NMRC for the development of vaccines against P. falciparum, the most deadly malaria species. Their continued enthusiastic support highlights the utility of our adenovector technology platform for the generation of novel vaccines against poorly treated diseases."

GenVec, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic drugs and vaccines. GenVec's lead product, TNFerade is currently in a pivotal clinical study (PACT) in locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Additional clinical trials are in progress in rectal cancer, head and neck cancer and melanoma. GenVec also uses its proprietary adenovector technology to develop vaccines for infectious diseases including HIV, malaria, foot-and-mouth disease, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza.