NIH Supports Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Vical's DNA-Based Anthrax Vaccine

SAN DIEGO -- Vical Incorporated announces that the National Institute of Allergy and

Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)

has advised the company that it will support a Phase 1 clinical trial of the

company's investigational plasmid DNA-based anthrax vaccine at two

NIAID-funded Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs). Clinical trial

materials are ready for shipment, and the trial is expected to begin within

the next few weeks.

"This partnership with NIAID provides funding and advances our anthrax

vaccine into human clinical testing," said David C. Kaslow, MD, Vical's

chief scientific officer. "Our bivalent vaccine has the potential to provide

broader protection against anthrax than the currently licensed vaccine and

potentially superior stability for stockpiling. In addition, this trial

provides an opportunity to confirm in humans the potent antibody responses

that our vaccine elicited in animal studies."

The VTEUs, established in 1962, are a nationwide network of

university-affiliated research hospitals that conduct Phase 1 and Phase 2

clinical trials for NIAID. Through these centers, candidate vaccines of

potential public health significance are tested and evaluated for safety and

efficacy. The VTEUs have conducted clinical trials of vaccines for numerous

infectious diseases, including those that might be introduced through acts of

bioterrorism.

Vical researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its

patented DNA delivery technologies for the prevention and treatment of serious

or life-threatening diseases. Potential applications of the company's DNA

delivery technology include DNA vaccines for infectious diseases or cancer, in

which the expressed protein is an immunogen; cancer immunotherapeutics, in

which the expressed protein is an immune system stimulant; and cardiovascular

therapies, in which the expressed protein is an angiogenic growth factor. The

company has retained all rights to its internally developed product

candidates.

Source: Vical Incorporated