Tuesday February 26, 7:02 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: The Immune Response Corporation
Animal Study Suggests Intranasal Delivery of HIV-1 Antigen With Adjuvant May Induce Potent Immune Responses Capable of Protection Against Viral Challenge
CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Immune Response Corporation (Nasdaq: IMNR - news) announced today that data presented at the Ninth Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle on February 25, 2002 suggest that the Company's envelope depleted killed HIV-1 virus when combined with an adjuvant consisting of immunostimulatory CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) given intranasally to female mice, does induce potent immune responses in mice capable of protection against intravaginal virus challenge.
Dr. Kenneth L. Rosenthal, principal study investigator and Professor of Pathology at the Centre for Gene Therapeutics at McMaster University Health Sciences Center in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, presented the data from the study. Female mice immunized intranasally with the Company's HIV-1 antigen plus CpG ODN immune stimulant had significantly enhanced levels of anti-p24 IgA antibodies in serum and vaginal washes. Productions of IFN-gamma and lymphocyte proliferation were also significantly increased in the same group of animals. Furthermore, Beta-chemokines, which are known to inhibit the use of the CCR5 co-receptor by HIV, were also significantly higher in mice immunized with HIV-1 antigen plus CpG ODN. Most importantly, the intranasal immunization provided protection (93% reduction in virus titer compared to non-immunized animals) against intravaginal challenge with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing HIV-1 gag.
``We are encouraged by this data and believe that further investigation of the use of our envelope depleted whole killed HIV-1 antigen in combination with CpG ODN could pave the way for the development of an easily administered preventative HIV-1 vaccine which may produce protection against HIV infection,'' said Dennis J. Carlo, Ph.D., President & CEO of The Immune Response Corporation.
The Immune Response Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company based in Carlsbad, California, developing immune-based therapies to induce specific T-cell responses for the treatment of HIV, autoimmune diseases and cancer. In addition, the Company is developing a targeted non-viral delivery technology for gene therapy, which is designed to enable the delivery of genes directly to the liver via intravenous injection.
NOTE: Company information can also be located on the Internet Web site: www.imnr.com
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially from those expected due to a variety of risk factors, including, but not limited to, whether clinical trials will be successfully concluded and whether REMUNE® will be approved for marketing or be successfully commercialized. Those factors are discussed more thoroughly in The Immune Response Corporation's SEC filings, including but not limited to its report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and subsequent Forms 10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
REMUNE® is a registered trademark of The Immune Response Corporation.
SOURCE: The Immune Response Corporation
