Attached files
| file | filename |
|---|---|
| 8-K - FORM 8-K - INOVIO PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | w83486e8vk.htm |
Exhibit 99.1
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
CONTACTS:
| Investors: | Bernie Hertel, Inovio Pharmaceuticals 858-410-3101 bhertel@inovio.com | |
| Media: | Jeff Richardson, Richardson & Associates 805-491-8313 jeff@richardsonglobalpr.com |
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Announces Transition of Avtar Dhillon
to Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
to Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
BLUE BELL, Pa., July 1, 2011 (PRNEWSWIRE) — Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: INO), a
leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious
diseases, announced today that Dr. Avtar Dhillon has become non-executive Chairman of the Board of
Directors. Dr. Dhillon was initially appointed as Executive Chairman of the Board in 2009 in
conjunction with the merger between Inovio Biomedical and VGX Pharmaceuticals with a mandate to
provide continuity and strategic guidance during their integration. Dr. Dhillon will now
exclusively focus on his role as chairman of the Board of Directors and will no longer have
executive responsibilities.
Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio’s President and CEO, said: “Avtar has provided strong leadership and
support during the integration and build up of Inovio Pharmaceuticals. We look forward to his
continued leadership as a non-executive Chairman.”
About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Inovio is developing a new generation of vaccines, called DNA vaccines, to treat and prevent
cancers and infectious diseases. Its SynCon™ vaccines are designed to provide broad cross-strain
protection against known as well as newly emergent strains of pathogens such as influenza. These
vaccines, in combination with Inovio’s proprietary electroporation delivery devices, have been
shown to be safe and generate significant immune responses. Inovio clinical programs include three
Phase II studies for vaccines treating cervical dysplasia/cancer, hepatitis C virus, and leukemia.
Other clinical programs target influenza (preventive) and HIV (preventive and therapeutic). Inovio
partners and collaborators include the University of Pennsylvania, Merck, ChronTech, National
Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, NIH, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, University
of Southampton, and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. More information is available at
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 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, 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, 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, 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,
our ability to successfully integrate Inovio and VGX Pharmaceuticals, 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, 2010, our Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2011, 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.