Vical Receives DARPA Funding for DNA Vaccine Rapid-Response Manufacturing Technology
Thursday September 22, 7:30 am ET
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq: VICL - News) today announced that it has been awarded funding for a one-year, $0.5 million project for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), of the U.S. Department of Defense. The award will fund feasibility studies of a new approach for rapidly manufacturing large quantities of DNA vaccines.
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Conventional vaccine development and manufacturing methods require years of effort after the emergence of a new pathogen for production of even a single dose for testing. Current DNA vaccine development and manufacturing processes allow initial production of vaccines in as little as three months after selection of a gene sequence associated with a pathogen, but quantities are limited by the batch-processing capacity of available manufacturing equipment. Vical intends to use the funding to evaluate new methods that would dramatically reduce the manufacturing time and increase yields, allowing production of millions of doses in a matter of weeks.
"New approaches to vaccine manufacturing are clearly needed to rapidly respond to an explosive emergence of a natural or weaponized infectious disease threat," said David C. Kaslow, M.D., Vical's Chief Scientific Officer. "Our goal in these feasibility studies is to demonstrate that vaccines can be manufactured in the short timeframes required to stem a new epidemic. DNA vaccines provide that potential."
About Vical
Vical researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies for the prevention and treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases. Potential applications of the company's DNA delivery technology include DNA vaccines for infectious diseases or cancer, in which the expressed protein is an immunogen; cancer immunotherapeutics, in which the expressed protein is an immune system stimulant; and cardiovascular therapies, in which the expressed protein is an angiogenic growth factor. The company has retained all rights to its internally developed product candidates. In addition, the company collaborates with major pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies that give it access to complementary technologies or greater resources. These strategic partnerships provide the company with mutually beneficial opportunities to expand its product pipeline and serve significant unmet medical needs. Additional information on Vical is available at www.vical.com. |
