Inovio reveals success in DNA plasmid technology

US drug developer Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NYSE MKT: INO)has demonstrated the success of its new DNA plasmid technology in generating therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

In the study in mice, published in Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, a prototype monoclonal antibody construct encoding for an established anti-HIV monoclonal antibody (VRC01) was created as a DNA plasmid using Inovio's patented DNA optimization technology, including codon/RNA optimization and leader sequence utilization, and delivered with its Cellcetra adaptive electroporation device.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were a transformational scientific innovation designed to enhance the immune system's ability to regulate cell functions. They are designed to bind to a very specific epitope (area) of an antigen or cell surface target and can bind to almost any selected target. mAbs have the unique ability to alert the immune system to attack and kill specific cancer cells (as in the case of Bristol Myers-Squibb’s Yervoy (ipilimumab) or block certain biochemical pathways (such as those leading to rheumatoid arthritis, as in the case of Remicade (infliximab) from EPIRUS Biopharmaceuticals). Monoclonal antibodies, with their designer capabilities and potency, have consequently become a powerful class of products against cancers, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis.