Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. said Thursday that its AntigenFormulation has been shown in preclinical studies involvingmice to spur production of killer T Cells (CD8 immune cells)and antibodies to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Idec of La Jolla, Calif., said it combined its AntigenFormulation with a recombinant version of the gp120 envelopeprotein of the AIDS virus. Results of the preclinical study werereported in the Sept. 1 edition of the journal Proceedings ofthe National Academy of Sciences.

Idec (NASDAQ:IDPH) said that it is developing therapeuticvaccines against AIDS, other viral diseases and certaincancers. Its Antigen Formulation is made of chemically definedcomponents of a virus that appear to be relatively non-toxic tohumans.

The company sees its research strategy as an alternative todevelopment of vaccines using live attenuated viruses. Idecwas awarded last month a small business innovation research(SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health to developproof of its therapeutic vaccine system.

"We have recently moved on to inoculate non-human primateswith HIV gp120 plus Antigen Formulation to see if we inducethe same dual immunity in them," said William H. Rastetter,Idec's president and chief executive officer.

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