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
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