BioWorld International Correspondent

Inovio AS entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Navy Medical Research Center to evaluate the use of Inovio's electroporation technology for delivery of an undisclosed number of Navy DNA vaccines.

"It's a really specific project - the idea is to compare our delivery method with their current immunization method," said Iacob Mathiesen, CEO of Oslo, Norway-based Inovio. The project will involve experiments on primates and perhaps other species.

The Naval research center is based in Silver Spring, Md.

Inovio holds patents on the use of electroporation for boosting delivery of naked plasmid DNA to muscle cells. The company has already obtained small-animal data indicating stable expression of plasmid-encoded genes for up to a year. Since muscle cells do not divide, plasmids that are delivered to the cell are not diluted through cell division. Inovio already has entered a $2 million agreement with the U.S. Army to further develop its prototype delivery system. (See BioWorld International, July 9, 2003.)

It also claims cost advantages over rival methods, such as straightforward injection of naked DNA.

"We know for certain now we can deliver much less DNA and get a much higher level of expression," Mathiesen told BioWorld International. It still needs to demonstrate in larger animals - and in humans - that the technology can translate into a stronger immune response.

"We have applied for approval for a clinical trial this year," Mathiesen said. An undisclosed partner, which is developing a DNA vaccine, is involved in the initiative.

The same technology also has potential application in gene therapy and in the delivery of genes encoding therapeutic proteins, such as monoclonal antibodies. The company's efforts in those fields are at an earlier research stage, Mathiesen said.