Healthcare Industry News: Inovio Biomedical
News Release - February 1, 2007
Inovio Presents MedPulser(R) Electrochemical Tumor Ablation Results at 5th International Symposium on Advances in Head & Neck Cancer
SAN DIEGO--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Inovio Biomedical Corporation (AMEX:INO ), a late stage developer of a novel tumor ablation therapy and enabler of DNA vaccines by using electroporation to deliver drugs and nucleic acids, announced today that Dr. Remco De Bree will present a paper, titled "Chemo-electroporation in the head and neck for otherwise untreatable patients," at the 5th International Symposium on Advances in Head & Neck Cancer taking place February 1 - 3 in Marburg, Germany. Dr. De Bree has been a participating physician in a European pre-marketing clinical study for head and neck cancer using Inovio's Selective Electrochemical Tumor Ablation (SECTA) therapy. The paper, co-authored by De Bree R, Tijing BM, van Dongen GAMS, and Leemans CR, notes that the therapy "has the potential to become a valuable addition to the treatment options for patients with head and neck tumors."About MedPulser® Selective Electrochemical Tumor Ablation Therapy
Inovio's electroporation technology significantly enhances local cellular uptake of useful biopharmaceuticals. Inovio's Selective Electrochemical Tumor Ablation (SECTA) therapy uses its MedPulser® electroporation device in conjunction with bleomycin, an approved anti-cancer drug, to locally treat solid tumors. This novel therapy is highly selective in killing cancerous cells while preserving the predominantly healthy margin of surrounding tissue. By preserving this margin of surrounding tissue, the SECTA therapy has the unique capability of avoiding disfigurement and function loss that may result from surgery, the standard of care for treating solid tumors. SECTA is designed to improve patient quality of life while also reducing treatment costs.
The MedPulser® has received the European CE Mark and Inovio is conducting multi-center, pre-marketing observational studies treating newly diagnosed and recurrent head and neck cancers as well as skin cancers in preparation for a planned European product launch. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed a Special Protocol Assessment and approved clinical studies with a non-survival primary endpoint. Inovio is conducting two pivotal Phase III trials for recurrent and second primary squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck; the FDA granted these trials fast track status. Inovio is also completing a Phase I/II study of recurrent breast cancer patients.
About Inovio Biomedical Corporation
Inovio Biomedical Corporation is a late stage biomedical company focused on commercializing its proprietary Selective Electrochemical Tumor Ablation (SECTA) therapy and development of multiple DNA vaccines using its delivery platform for gene-based treatments. SECTA is designed for local treatment of solid tumors, selectively killing cancerous cells while preserving the surrounding margin of predominantly healthy tissue. Inovio is moving its lead product, the MedPulser®, through pre-marketing studies for head and neck cancer and skin cancers in Europe, where it has CE Mark accreditation, a U.S. phase III pivotal study for head and neck cancer, and a phase I trial for breast cancer. Inovio's DNA delivery partners include Merck, Wyeth, Vical, University of Southampton, Moffitt Cancer Center, and the U.S. Army, with six gene-based therapies and DNA vaccines in phase I clinical studies. Inovio is a leader in developing human therapeutic applications of electroporation and DNA vaccination, with the industry's most extensive patent portfolio covering in vivo electroporation. More information is available at www.inovio.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our plans to develop our electroporation drug and gene delivery technology. Actual events or results may differ from our expectations as a result of a number of factors, including the uncertainties inherent in clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to, the fact that pre-clinical results referenced in this release may not be indicative of results achievable from testing in humans), the availability of funding to support continuing research and studies in an effort to prove safety and efficacy of Inovio's technology as a delivery mechanism, the availability or potential availability of alternative therapies or treatments for the conditions targeted by Inovio or its collaborators, including alternatives that may be more efficacious or cost-effective than any therapy or treatment that Inovio and its collaborators hope to develop, evaluation of potential opportunities, issues involving patents and whether they or licenses to them will provide Inovio with meaningful protection from others using the covered technologies, whether such proprietary rights are enforceable or defensible or infringe or allegedly infringe on rights of others or can withstand claims of invalidity and whether Inovio can finance or devote other significant resources that may be necessary to prosecute, protect or defend them, the level of corporate expenditures, assessments of our technology by potential corporate or other partners or collaborators, capital market conditions, and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, our Form 10-Q for the nine months ended September 30, 2006, and other regulatory filings. There can be no assurance that any product in our product pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured, or that final results of clinical studies will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market licensed products.
Source: Inovio Biomedical
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