Inovio Pharmaceuticals Awarded Grant to Advance Needle-free Vaccine Delivery Device

Inovio pharmaceuticals {NASDAQ: INO} have received a $500,000 grant to advance a needle free vaccine delivery from the US Army.

This is a needle free skin surface multiple vaccine delivery system, akin to that seen in Star Trek episodes since the mid 1960’s. Once again a fictional technology becomes a reality!

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Awarded Grant to Advance Needle-free Vaccine Delivery Device

 

Non-invasive delivery device to facilitate the advancement of several commercially-attractive vaccines.

 

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. − January 19, 2016 – Inovio Pharmaceuticals, {NASDAQ:  INO} announced today it has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Army’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to further advance the development of Inovio’s next generation delivery device capable of simultaneously administering multiple vaccines via a skin-surface, needle-free electroporation delivery.

 

The primary goal of this U.S. Army-funded effort is to further develop a device that would facilitate rapid vaccination of U.S. troops stationed around the world against multiple infectious diseases and protect civilian populations from pandemic threats.

 

The new needle-free device could be used to deliver Inovio’s portfolio of biodefense and commercial infectious disease vaccines including those for MERS, Ebola, HIV, influenza, and RSV. Today’s grant is a follow-on to previous grants from the US Department of Defense. Initial testing of a prototype design has already yielded excellent antigen expression and immunogenicity from the dermal tissue being accessed using this novel non-invasive electroporation delivery concept.

 

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio President and CEO, said, “Inovio has already accomplished building its CELLECTRA® 5PSP as a portable fully-automatic device for VGX-3100 and other cancer immunotherapies – this is the device that would take us into commercialisation. It is our further goal to advance and commercialize a needle and pain-free electroporation device to be used particularly for prophylactic vaccination. This new grant will move us closer to achieving this goal and enable us to target several important commercial infectious disease opportunities that will be well served by non-invasive vaccination.”

 
About SBIR

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs allow small, high-tech U.S. businesses (less than 500 employees) and academia the opportunity to provide innovative research and development solutions in response to critical Army needs. By capturing the tremendous and agile talents of the U.S. small business community, the SBIR and STTR programs benefit the Department of Defense, the private sector, and our national economy.

 

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals.

Inovio is taking immunotherapy to the next level in the fight against cancer and infectious diseases. We are the only immunotherapy company that is generating T cells in vivo in high quantity that are fully functional and whose killing capacity correlates with relevant clinical outcomes with a favorable safety profile. With an expanding portfolio of immune therapies, the company is advancing a growing preclinical and clinical stage product pipeline. Partners and collaborators include MedImmune, Roche, University of Pennsylvania, DARPA, GeneOne Life Science, Drexel University, NIH, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, and University of Manitoba.

 

For more information, www.inovio.com
CONTACT:
Bernie Hertel

Inovio Pharmaceuticals

+1 858 410 101

bhertel@inovio.com