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VGX Pharmaceuticals
Announces DNA Therapeutics License Agreement
with Baylor College of Medicine
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Bell, PA – May 14, 2007 – |
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VGX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VGX) announced today that
it has signed a license agreement with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)
covering a broad range of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (“GHRH”)
and related intellectual property for application in humans. Under the
terms of the agreement VGX will have exclusive worldwide rights to develop
the technology for a number of indications including cachexia in cancer
and HIV patients as well as age-related disorders. This new agreement
broadens the existing relationship between the two organizations. VGX
recently acquired ADViSYS, Inc., a former BCM Technologies start-up company,
focused on veterinary applications of the GHRH technology. The products
for porcine, canine, equine and bovine applications are in various stages
of development with the porcine-GHRH product presently undergoing pre-market
regulatory review in Australia.
The underlying technology was developed in the laboratories of Dr. Robert
Schwartz, Dr. Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, and other collaborators during their
time at Baylor. Drs. Schwartz and Draghia-Akli were involved in the founding
of ADViSYS and Draghia-Akli is currently VGX’s Vice President of
Research – Immune Therapeutics.
Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO of VGX Pharmaceuticals, commented,
“The licensed technology will augment our growing early-stage pipeline
of DNA based therapeutics and vaccines being developed at the VGX-Immune
Therapeutics Division. We already have on-going programs in both HIV and
cancer, and the development of GHRH as a potential treatment to combat
wasting (cachexia) associated with these diseases may represent an important
step in the management of these diseases. Our early efficacy data on the
use of plasmid-mediated GHRH supplementation for alleviating cancer-cachexia
in dogs has proved to be very promising, and this licensing agreement
allows us access to further develop the technology for human applications.”
Commenting on the license agreement, Dr. Michael Dilling, Sr. Licensing
Associate with the Baylor Licensing Group said,” We are pleased
to expand our relationship with VGX. With their proprietary DNA delivery
technology, cGMP plasmid manufacturing capabilities and development experience,
we believe that VGX will serve as an ideal commercialization partner for
Baylor technology.”
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statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform
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They use words such as "anticipate," "estimate,"
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no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and forward-looking
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About VGX
Pharmaceuticals
VGX Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company with small molecules
and biologics product candidates for the treatment of infectious diseases,
cancer and inflammatory diseases. The Company’s clinical development
programs include PICTOVIR™ for HIV infection and VGX-410C for chronic
HCV infection, both of which are currently in Phase II clinical trials.
In addition, Phase I clinical trials will be initiated in 2007 for VGX-150
for the treatment of Melanoma and VGX-1027 for inflammatory diseases. VGX’s
research pipelines include new generation of DNA vaccines and therapeutics
as well as CELLECTRA™, a proprietary DNA delivery device. The product
candidates and technology programs are protected by the Company’s
extensive global intellectual property portfolio. More information about
VGX can be found at www.vgxp.com.
Company Contact:
Kevin W. Rassas
Senior Vice President
Tel. 267.440.4208
Fax 267.440.4242
E-mail: Rassas@vgxp.com
www.vgxp.com
About Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, the only private medical
school in the Greater Southwest, was founded in 1900 and is today an internationally
respected medical and research institution known for excellence in education,
research and patient care. Today, the College consistently ranks among
the country’s top 125 medical schools. For 2006, U.S. News &
World Report has again ranked the College No. 13 on its list of top medical
schools. BCM also is listed 11th among all U.S. medical schools for National
Institutes of Health funding, and No. 1 for research expenditures in biological
science by the National Science Foundation. Located in the Texas Medical
Center, a 700-acre complex housing 42 member institutions, BCM has affiliations
with seven teaching hospitals, each with a national and international
reputation for medical excellence. The College has total research support
exceeding $401.5 million, with $340 million from federal sources, and
more than 90 research and patient-care centers and units. Currently, BCM
trains more than 3,000 medical, graduate, nurse anesthesia, and physician
assistant students, as well as residents and post-doctoral fellows. For
more information, please visit: www.bcm.edu.
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