Inovio to work with US army on bioterrorism vaccines

Published: 7-Jul-2003

Norwegian gene delivery specialist company Inovio is to collaborate with the US Army in developing new vaccines against bioterrorism using its non-viral gene delivery technology.


Norwegian gene delivery specialist company Inovio is to collaborate with the US Army in developing new vaccines against bioterrorism using its non-viral gene delivery technology.

The project has been allocated funds of US$2m (€1.75m) by the US House of Representatives. The appropriation will enable Inovio to develop further its Elgen gene delivery programme which enables gene-based vaccines to be directly injected into muscle tissue.

According to Inovio's ceo Dr Iacob Mathiesen this technique has many advantages: 'The main benefit of Inovio's technology is that it uses plasmid DNA and thereby avoids the use of viral vectors. In addition, direct muscular injection speeds up onset of action and prolongs the effectiveness of the vaccine delivered. In a bioterroism situation, these are the qualities required - allowing vaccines to be developed quickly with maximum efficacy.'

Inovio specialises in the development and use of electroporation-based vaccination/therapy systems for in vivo delivery of genes and other biomolecules. The company is developing equipment and protocols for safe and efficacious delivery of DNA and other polynucleotides for obtaining therapeutic and sustained level of gene expression.

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