Wyeth signs deal to develop infectious disease vaccines

Wyeth has revealed it has signed a $60 million (31.4 million pounds) deal with Inovio Biomedical to develop new DNA-based vaccines for infectious diseases.

Inovio claims that its MedPulser intramuscular delivery technology for DNA vaccines allows greater immune response through using a technique called electroportation. The San Diego-based company states that this could allow better protection against infectious diseases like hepatitis C or HIV.

Wyeth will pay a sum of $4.5 million to Inovio for the technology licence, while a further $60 million could be paid, depending on the achievement of clinical and regulatory goals.

Avtar Dhillon, president and chief executive officer of Inovio, remarked: “We are pleased to add Wyeth to the list of corporate partners using our enabling MedPulser DNA Delivery System to develop DNA vaccines for the treatment of debilitating diseases caused by a variety of viruses.”

He added that Inovio was dedicated to commercialising its products to “top-tier” vaccine companies like Wyeth.

Wyeth currently markets Prevenar, a vaccine for pneumococcal disease, which was recently introduced in the UK childhood vaccination programme.

The company is also researching a 13-valent version of the vaccine, which is currently in phase II trials.

In September, Wyeth signed a $77 million deal with Intercell for an adjuvant for use in serious infectious disease vaccines.