Inovio Biomedical achieves 75% complete response rate in preclinical testing of DNA-based cancer vaccine using its electroporation DNA delivery system

Sep 15 2008

Inovio Biomedical Corporation announced today that it achieved positive results from its proprietary research and development program for DNA-based cancer vaccines delivered using the company's electroporation-based DNA delivery technology.

The pre-clinical study results showed that in mice with metastatic melanoma treated with a DNA-based therapeutic vaccine via intramuscular delivery, six of eight (75%) were tumor-free at the conclusion of the study.

Inovio's research and development program is assessing multiple DNA vaccine candidates against infectious diseases and cancer using its proprietary electroporation-based DNA delivery technology. This experimental therapeutic vaccine formulation for melanoma utilizes a regime including depletion of immune-dampening regulatory T-cells along with immune-stimulating genetic components. The combination of this vaccine with intratumoral delivery of IL-12 (independent clinical results of which have been previously reported by Inovio) improved the efficacy and tumor regression achieved by the vaccine. These data will be presented in a poster session entitled, "Regression of subcutaneous B16F10 melanoma following electroporation enhanced delivery of plasmids encoding xenogenic melanoma antigens and IL-12," at the Cancer Research Institute symposium, "Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy 2008," being held at the Millennium Conference Center in New York City, September 15 - 17, 2008.

Avtar Dhillon, MD, president and CEO of Inovio, said: "Our pipeline has to date consisted of DNA vaccine products being advanced by partners, for which we are fortunate. However, our aim has always been to also develop novel proprietary DNA vaccines, delivered via our electroporation technology, to stimulate robust T-cell responses and produce potent anti-cancer and anti-infectious disease activity. Our intention is to rigorously evaluate the potential of these new agents - such as this melanoma vaccine and our recently highlighted preclinical universal influenza vaccine - in animal models and move selected candidates into the clinic with the goal of meeting unmet medical needs and increasing our pipeline's value."