SAN DIEGO, May 14, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq:VICL) announced today that the company has granted a non-exclusive, academic license for its broad DNA delivery technology patent estate to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The company had previously announced the grant of academic licenses on the same terms to Stanford University, Harvard University, Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and six additional leading academic research institutions.
The academic licenses are intended to encourage widespread commercial use of the company's innovative DNA delivery technologies in the development of new antibodies, vaccines, therapeutic proteins, and diagnostics. The nonexclusive academic licenses allow university researchers to use Vical's technology free of charge for educational and internal, non-commercial research purposes. In exchange, Vical will have the option to exclusively license from the universities potential commercial applications stemming from the technology on terms to be negotiated.
Vical's patent-protected technology allows delivery of genetic material into living cells in the body without the use of viruses. The convenience, safety, and simplicity of Vical's method have driven its advance from initial discovery in the late 1980s to its use today by many of the world's most prestigious medical and scientific researchers. Vical pioneered the fundamental method of DNA delivery that has become a standard tool of researchers worldwide, and products based on this technology are now beginning to enter the commercial markets. The goal of the academic licenses is to encourage its widespread use of the technology without jeopardizing its proprietary nature. The company is offering identical terms to other academic institutions to promote further research and development using its patented non-viral DNA delivery methodologies.
About Vical
Vical researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies for the prevention and treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases. Potential applications of the company's DNA delivery technology include DNA vaccines for infectious diseases or cancer, in which the expressed protein is an immunogen; cancer immunotherapeutics, in which the expressed protein is an immune system stimulant; and cardiovascular therapies, in which the expressed protein is an angiogenic growth factor. The company is developing certain infectious disease vaccines and cancer therapeutics internally. In addition, the company collaborates with major pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies that give it access to complementary technologies or greater resources. These strategic partnerships provide the company with mutually beneficial opportunities to expand its product pipeline and address significant unmet medical needs. Additional information on Vical is available at www.vical.com.
The Vical Incorporated logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5768
This press release contains forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including: whether additional academic institutions will take academic licenses to Vical's technology; whether the use of Vical's technology by academic institutions will lead to any commercial opportunities or any licenses of technology to Vical; whether any product candidates will be shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials; the timing, nature and cost of clinical trials; whether Vical or its collaborative partners will seek or gain approval to market any product candidates; whether any additional products will enter the commercial markets; whether Vical or its collaborative partners will succeed in marketing any product candidates; and additional risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent the company's judgment as of the date of this release. The company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.