Vical Incorporated has agreed to manufacture plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccines against HIV under a US$ 2.4 million contract with the IPPOX Foundation, a collaborating institution for the Poxvirus Vaccine Regimen Design (PVRD) led by the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) under the auspices of the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD).

A pDNA prime/poxvirus boost vaccine approach has been developed since 1998 by the EuroVacc program and currently the focus of the CAVD's Poxvirus T-cell Vaccine Discovery Consortium. The DNA/poxvirus approach has been tested in multiple phase-1 and 2 clinical trials in Europe and has shown to be highly immunogenic. The current project is investigating whether the 2nd generation DNA/poxvirus vaccine approach combined with novel immunization strategies can induce increased and balanced Env, Gag, Pol and Nef HIV-1-specific T-cell responses in humans. Successful outcomes in the human studies could lead to further clinical development of the DNA and poxvirus vaccine candidates in Africa.

Vical will produce individual plasmids encoding selected portions of the Env and Gag antigens, and one plasmid encoding selected portions of the Pol and Nef antigens. These plasmids will be combined and delivered as a single vaccine. Delivery is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Vical researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies for the prevention and treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases.