Genetic Immunity to present DermaVir and DermaPrep transdermal delivery system at HIV DART 2010 conference

Genetic Immunity, a US/Hungarian biopharmaceutical company developing nanomedicine vaccines, will present data at this week's HIV DART 2010 conference, "Frontiers in Drug Development for Antiretroviral Therapies," in Los Cabos, Mexico. The conference brings international researchers together to discuss the latest developments in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“DermaPrep, which recently obtained European CE Mark approval, offers a novel topical administration method not only for DermaVir, but for a variety of liquid formulations and vaccines as well”

"We are pleased to present DermaVir and our needle-free DermaPrep transdermal delivery system at this distinguished conference," said Dr Julianna Lisziewicz, CEO of Genetic Immunity. "It is indeed exciting to discuss the science behind our Therapeutic Vaccine Platform, including DermaPrep, as well as human proof-of-concept data on our first therapeutic vaccine candidate, DermaVir, in one of the most difficult areas of modern medicine, HIV/AIDS. In a recent Phase II study, the delivery of DermaVir using the DermaPrep system resulted in a median 70% reduction in HIV viral load at six months following four vaccine applications."

The DermaPrep system was developed to overcome a major hurdle facing therapeutic vaccine development - delivering adequate amounts of antigen to the lymph nodes of the immune system. "Sufficient antigen must reach the lymphoid organs to maximize vaccination efficiency. The Genetic Immunity Therapeutic Vaccine Platform's novel mechanism of action is based on natural migration of Langerhans cells from the skin to the lymph nodes," explained Franco Lori, MD. "For targeting antigens from the skin directly into the lymph nodes a new medical device, DermaPrep, combines a special skin preparation procedure with a patch for needle-free topical vaccine administration." DermaPrep reproducibly delivered over 50% of the absorbed plasmid DNA nanomedicine vaccine to the lymph nodes. Clinical studies have demonstrated excellent safety and tolerability. "DermaPrep, which recently obtained European CE Mark approval, offers a novel topical administration method not only for DermaVir, but for a variety of liquid formulations and vaccines as well," Dr Lori added.