Ichor, Profectus announce agreement for clinical development of DNA vaccine programs

Ichor Medical Systems (Ichor) and Profectus Biosciences (Profectus) announced today that they have entered into a long-term development, license, and supply Agreement providing Profectus with commercial access to Ichor’s TriGrid™ Delivery System (TriGrid™) for the clinical development of its DNA vaccine programs, with an option for Ichor to co-develop.

In an earlier clinical study, Ichor’s TriGrid™ was shown to significantly enhance immune responses to DNA vaccination in human subjects compared to conventional injection. As an automated, push-button electroporation system, the proprietary TriGrid™ minimizes operator error and ensures the safe, rapid, effective and reproducible administration of DNA, thereby supporting the development and commercialization of DNA-based products.

ProfectusVAX™, Profectus’ prime-boost vaccine strategy, consisting of recently in-licensed assets from Wyeth Vaccines, is an approach that utilizes the best-in-class plasmid DNA, to prime, and first-in-class rVSV (recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus) vectors to boost, which elicits a very intense and durable immune response.

Dr. John Eldridge, Profectus Chief Scientific Officer, stated, “We are excited to be entering into the clinic using Ichor’s TriGrid™ delivery system for the delivery of our DNA vaccines both alone, and in prime/boost combination with our rVSV vaccine vector. Profectus has made significant clinical progress in advancing our vaccine programs using this multi-pronged approach. We believe that by combining our proprietary DNA vaccine technology with novel molecular adjuvants, improved formulation and a powerful delivery system, Profectus will overcome the previous challenges of efficiently delivering DNA vaccines in vivo.”

“We are delighted to be working with the experienced team at Profectus and believe this Agreement further validates the utility of our TriGrid™ technologies for a variety of DNA vaccine approaches. We are pleased to provide our enabling TriGrid™ technology to Profectus for clinical delivery of its ProfectusVAX™ portfolio of DNA vaccines,” said Bob Bernard, Ichor CEO.

The first clinical vaccine candidate for HIV is planned for clinical trials in Q2’10, followed by a therapeutic HCV vaccine. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

SOURCE Ichor Medical Systems