Vical enters agreement with GenomIdea to develop DNA vaccine for pandemic influenza

Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq:VICL) today announced that the company has entered into an evaluation and supply agreement with GenomIdea Inc., a subsidiary of AnGes MG, Inc., for the development of a DNA vaccine for livestock against pandemic influenza. Funding for the project is provided under a grant from "The Okinawa New Industry Creation Research & Development Support Business," supported by the Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corporation.

Vical will provide the company's H1N1 influenza vaccine know-how, as well as evaluation supplies of the company's Vaxfectin^® adjuvant. GenomIdea will manufacture the DNA vaccine and evaluate its efficacy in animals, including swine, with Vical's Vaxfectin^® adjuvant. If successful, GenomIdea intends to commercialize the resulting product as a livestock vaccine. Because DNA vaccines can be manufactured within weeks of identifying a viral threat, they could be deployed rapidly to protect livestock against pandemic outbreaks, which in turn should reduce the risk of transmission to humans.

Vical separately is conducting a Phase 1 human clinical trial of its Vaxfectin^®-formulated H1N1 vaccine, for which results are expected in the first quarter of 2011.