Lectures on DermaVir to be presented at International Conference on Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies

Jul 12 2010

Julianna Lisziewicz, PhD, President of Genetic Immunity, a biopharmaceutical company developing nanomedicine-based immunotherapies, is an invited speaker at this week's 7th International Conference on Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies in Ouranoupolis Halkidiki, Greece. The conference gathers front-line researchers, scientists and industry experts specialized in nanotechnology applications. Leading experts such as Dr. Lisziewicz are invited to present lectures covering the latest research in this rapidly progressing field. Dr. Lisziewicz has been invited to present the Company's development of DermaVir, the first nanomedicine-based therapeutic vaccine for HIV/AIDS, on Tuesday, July 13^th.

“Upon exposure to the VLP+ encoded by DermaVir, these dendritic cells then teach the immune system to seek and destroy HIV-infected cells throughout the body.”

"Genetic Immunity's expertise in medical nanotechnology has played a major role in the development of DermaVir, the first HIV-specific immunotherapeutic nanomedicine," commented Dr. Lisziewicz. "DermaVir employs two different nanomaterials. The antigen itself is a virus-like-particle (VLP+) that has been rendered safe at the molecular level. The final vaccine product, DermaVir, is a "pathogen-like" nanoparticle consisting of a single plasmid DNA condensed within a mannosylated linear polyethylenimine. The structure and antigenic repertoire of the DermaVir-expressed proteins and VLP+ are similar to wild-type HIV virions, giving them the ability to induce functional and long-lived HIV-specific immune responses in people living with HIV disease."

"DermaVir's novel mechanism of action is based on antigen presentation by dendritic cells. The nanomedicine is specifically targeted to Langerhans cells that naturally migrate from the skin to the lymph nodes. Following skin preparation with the DermaPrep medical device, these cells capture the DermaVir nanomedicine and travel to the lymph nodes where they become dendritic cells," explained Franco Lori, MD, Former Scientific Director of the Research Institute for Genetic and Human Therapy. "Upon exposure to the VLP+ encoded by DermaVir, these dendritic cells then teach the immune system to seek and destroy HIV-infected cells throughout the body."

Dr. Lisziewicz will address data emerging from recent human trials of DermaVir as a treatment for HIV/AIDS. "Our Phase I trial demonstrated the preliminary safety and immunogenicity of DermaVir in HIV-positive people treated with HAART," Lisziewicz explained. "We have recently obtained Phase II data showing safety, immunogenicity and viral load reductions when DermaVir is used for the initial treatment of HIV-infected individuals. This provides the human proof-of-concept for our topical nanomedicine vaccine technology and supports our belief that DermaVir will become the first nanomedicine vaccine developed to reconstitute HIV-specific immunity with the potential to maintain the health of people living with HIV infection."

SOURCE Genetic Immunity