The Immune Response Corporation Is Granted U.S. Patent for DNA Vaccine
Technology Related to Rheumatoid Arthritis
CARLSBAD, Calif., Mar 30, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Immune Response
Corporation (Nasdaq: IMNR) announced today that it has received United States
Patent Number 6,207,645 expanding coverage relating to its immune-based therapy
for rheumatoid arthritis, RAVAX(TM). The recently issued patent has specific
claims covering immunization utilizing DNA vaccines that are designed to
synthesize the T cell receptor (TCR) Vbeta specific peptides in situ, in
contrast to immunizing directly with the TCR peptides themselves. The patent
also includes specific claims for DNA vaccines encoding key "superantigen"
protein sequences from the Vbeta 3, Vbeta 14 and Vbeta 17 regions of the TCR
present on the surface of these pathogenic T cells thought to be associated with
rheumatoid arthritis. The Company believes that vaccination with RAVAX may
inhibit the disease-associated T cells that cause rheumatoid arthritis, and
prevent further damage in patients suffering from the disease.
"This recent issuance is a key patent in that it extends previous coverage
related to the delivery and composition of RAVAX to now include DNA vaccines in
addition to peptide vaccines," said Richard Bartholomew, Ph.D., Executive
Director of Research Operations for The Immune Response Corporation. "DNA
vaccination is proving to be an effective method of inducing immunity against a
number of human diseases. The issuance of this patent to include DNA vaccination
for our peptide vaccine program serves to further strengthen our intellectual
property position in the field of T cell receptor vaccine research." The Company
previously announced that it was issued U.S. patent number 6,090,387 for
vaccinating with T cell receptor peptides on August 9, 2000.
Several autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and
multiple sclerosis, are thought to result in part from the proliferation of
"autoreactive pathogenic T cells," immune cells that incorrectly identify the
body's own cells as foreign and destroy them.
The Immune Response Corporation has completed two Phase II clinical trials in
rheumatoid arthritis using their proprietary immune-based therapy based on TCR
peptide vaccines. In a phase IIb trial of 340 rheumatoid arthritis patients,
RAVAX demonstrated safety and tolerability, and suggested a statistically
significant treatment effect at one time point after the third injection using
criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR 20). The ACR
20 criteria require an improvement in tender and swollen joint counts of at
least 20% from baseline, along with improvement in three of five other
disease-related criteria. To date, no clinical studies have been initiated
utilizing the DNA vaccination approach. |
