Inovio Pharmaceuticals Showcases its Broad Pipeline of DNA-based Immunotherapies, Vaccines and dMAbs at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., May 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) announced today it will exhibit the breadth and promise of its cancer and infectious disease immunotherapy, vaccine and DNA-based monoclonal antibody (dMAb) pipeline in 10 presentations at the 19^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) held in Washington, DC from May 4-7.

The ASGCT abstract review committee selected Inovio’s presentation of its successful preclinical Ebola vaccine development for one of only three presentations to be given at its prestigious Presidential Symposium. In the selected abstract, out of 768 submitted and accepted, the presented preclinical testing in mice and non-human primates showed Inovio’s Ebola vaccine protected 100% of immunized animals from sickness and death following exposure to a lethal dose of Ebola virus.  Those results led to a study of 75 healthy subjects which showed the vaccine was safe, tolerable, and generated strong T cell and antibody responses in human as well.

Inovio’s Ebola results will be offered on Friday, May 6, at 2:50 p.m. in a presentation entitled: “479 – An Optimized DNA Vaccine Formulation Protects Against Lethal Ebola Makona Virus Challenge in Non-Human Primates and Elicits Robust Immune Responses.”

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO, said, “The results we will present at the ASGCT global scientific forum demonstrate the potential and breadth of the three pillars of Inovio’s broad pipeline: Immunotherapies and vaccines against cancers and challenging infectious diseases and our DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (dMAbs), which we believe will offer clear advantages over conventional monoclonal antibody technologies including faster development, easier product manufacturing, and more favorable pharmacokinetics.”

Inovio and its collaborators will present clinical and preclinical data that supports its on-going trials exploring the next generation of immunotherapies, vaccine and monoclonal antibodies at the following times over the next two days (link to abstracts):

19th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy

May 5

264 – In Vivo DNA-Monoclonal Antibody (DMAb) Gene Delivery Protects Against Lethal Bacterial and Viral Challenges in Mice
5:30 – 5:45 p.m.

428 – Generation of DNA Plasmid-Encoded Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies In Vivo
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

433 – DNA Monoclonal Antibodies Target Influenza Virus In Vivo
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

435 – Skin Delivery of a RSV Vaccine with Surface Electroporation Provides Full Protection from Lower Respiratory Disease in the Cotton Rat
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

436 – Developing a Synthetic DNA Vaccine for an Emerging Pathogen – Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

440 – Extreme Polyvalency Induces Potent Cross-Clade Cellular and Humoral Responses in Rabbits and Non-Human Primates
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

401 – In Vivo Expression of Plasmid Encoded IgG for PD-1 or LAG3 by Synthetic DNA as a New Tool for Cancer Immunotherapy
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

May 6

479 – An Optimized DNA Vaccine Formulation Protects Against Lethal Ebola Makona Virus Challenge in Non-Human Primates and Elicits Robust Immune Responses
2:50 – 3:10 p.m.

505 – VGX-3100 Drives Regression of HPV16/18 CIN2/3 and Robust Cellular Immune Responses in Blood and Cervical Tissue in a Blinded, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2B Study
4:00 – 4:15 p.m.

643 – Various Forms of CD40L Encoded as an Immune Plasmid Adjuvant Generate Unique Anti-Cancer DNA Vaccine Induced Responses
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

About the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT)

ASGCT is the primary professional membership organization for gene and cell therapy. The Society’s members are scientists, physicians, patient advocates, and other professionals. Its members work in a wide range of settings including universities, hospitals, government agencies, foundations, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Its mission is to advance knowledge, awareness, and education leading to the discovery and clinical application of gene and cell therapies to alleviate human disease.

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Inovio is taking immunotherapy to the next level in the fight against cancer and infectious diseases. We are the only immunotherapy company that has reported generating T cells in vivo in high quantity that are fully functional and whose killing capacity correlates with relevant clinical outcomes with a favorable safety profile. With an expanding portfolio of immune therapies, the company is advancing a growing preclinical and clinical stage product pipeline. Partners and collaborators include MedImmune, Roche, The Wistar Institute, University of Pennsylvania, DARPA, GeneOne Life Science, Drexel University, NIH, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, and University of Manitoba. For more information, visit www.inovio.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our business, including our plans to develop electroporation-based drug and gene delivery technologies and DNA vaccines, our expectations regarding our research and development programs and our capital resources. Actual events or results may differ from the expectations set forth herein as a result of a number of factors, including uncertainties inherent in pre-clinical studies, clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to, the fact that pre-clinical and clinical results referenced in this release may not be indicative of results achievable in other trials or for other indications, that the studies or trials may not be successful or achieve the results desired, including safety and efficacy for VGX-3100 and INO-3112, that pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may not commence or be completed in the time periods anticipated, that results from one study may not necessarily be reflected or supported by the results of other similar studies and that results from an animal study may not be indicative of results achievable in human studies), the availability of funding to support continuing research and studies in an effort to prove safety and efficacy of electroporation technology as a delivery mechanism or develop viable DNA vaccines, our ability to support our broad pipeline of SynCon® active immune therapy and vaccine products, our ability to advance our portfolio of immune-oncology products independently, the ability of our collaborators to attain development and commercial milestones for products we license and product sales that will enable us to receive future payments and royalties, the adequacy of our capital resources, the availability or potential availability of alternative therapies or treatments for the conditions targeted by the company or its collaborators, including alternatives that may be more efficacious or cost-effective than any therapy or treatment that the company and its collaborators hope to develop, our ability to enter into partnerships in conjunction with our research and development programs, evaluation of potential opportunities, issues involving product liability, issues involving patents and whether they or licenses to them will provide the company 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 the company can finance or devote other significant resources that may be necessary to prosecute, protect or defend them, the level of corporate expenditures, assessments of the company’s technology by potential corporate or other partners or collaborators, capital market conditions, the impact of government healthcare proposals and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and other regulatory filings from time to time. There can be no assurance that any product in Inovio’s pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured, that final results of clinical studies will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market licensed products, or that any of the forward-looking information provided herein will be proven accurate.

CONTACT: CONTACTS:
Investors: Bernie Hertel, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, 858-410-3101, bhertel@inovio.com
Media: Jeff Richardson, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, 267-440-4211, jrichardson@inovio.com