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Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc. announced today a collaboration with Dr. David Claxton at Penn State University for the development of immunostimulant and therapeutic vaccine approaches for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Juvaris' novel and potent immunostimulation technology will be tested in rodent tumor models established by Dr. Claxton at Penn State University to evaluate the impact on leukemia using either an antigen-specific immunotherapeutic AML vaccine (JuvaVaxTM) or a non-antigen immunostimulant (JuvImmuneTM) to augment immune responsiveness. These approaches are supported by preclinical data generated by Juvaris and preliminary studies conducted by Dr. Claxton demonstrating significant protection in a rodent tumor model. "We are pleased to be working with Penn State University and such a recognized leukemia investigator as Dr. Claxton," said Martin D. Cleary, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Juvaris. "The immediate goal of this collaboration is the development of products to treat and prevent relapse in AML. The ability to substantially activate the immune response and its cancer surveillance capability has been a long sought objective in the cancer field," stated Mr. Cleary. AML represents 90% of all adult acute leukemias, with an estimated 10,600 new cases annually in the United States. The overall survival rate for AML is 14%, and approximately 7,400 patients succumb from this cancer every year. The majority of patients with AML move into remission after the initial treatment with chemotherapy, however, current treatments are largely ineffective when relapse eventually occurs. Therefore, there is a critical need for more effective means to delay or prevent the recurrence of the cancer. About Juvaris Juvaris BioTherapeutics was created in 2002 to develop an immunotherapeutic product platform for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer using lipid-DNA complexes. Cationic lipids are formulated with non-coding DNA (plasmid) to create JuvImmuneTM, a single lipid-DNA complex, which as an immunostimulation product will have utility in a number of non-antigen immunotherapeutic applications. The DNA in these complexes does not code for protein, but rather, through a combined synergistic effect with lipids, strongly stimulates immune responses. The JuvImmuneTM product has been shown to be at least 50-times more potent at triggering innate immune activation and interferon release than current immune stimulants. Juvaris was recently issued Patent No. 6,693,086 titled "Systemic Immune Activation Method Using Nucleic Acid-Lipid Complexes" providing broad intellectual property coverage for the JuvImmuneTM technology. When combined with disease-specific antigens, the technology creates JuvaVaxTM vaccines capable of activating substantial antibody- and cell-mediated immune responses, particularly induction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Immunological responses elicited by the lipid-DNA complexes have been successfully demonstrated in both prophylactic and therapeutic settings in a variety of mammals including rodents, rabbits, cats, dogs and non-human primates. This technology provides the opportunity to develop many disease-specific vaccine products, for which there are significant unmet medical needs. Over the past six months, the Company has announced collaborations or investigational studies with Cell Genesys, SomaGenics, the University of California-San Francisco, and now Penn State University. The Company encourage investment and partnering inquiries and can be reached at their websites @ www.juvaris.com. Company Contact: |