Inovio Pharmaceuticals' HPV Immunotherapy Recognized as "Best Therapeutic Vaccine" by World Vaccine Congress

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., April 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. INO today announced that it was recognized with a prestigious industry award at the World Vaccine Congress being held this week in Washington, D.C. The Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) Awards honor outstanding vaccine advancements and achievements of therapeutic and preventive vaccine developers across the worldwide industry as judged by a panel of global biotech industry stakeholders.

Inovio was given accolades by its industry peers for "Best Therapeutic Vaccine" for its DNA-based immunotherapy, VGX-3100, which was designed to treat HPV-associated precancers and cancers. In a large, controlled phase II efficacy trial Inovio reported top line data demonstrating regression of disease and clearance of the underlying cause of the condition – the HPV virus. Inovio expects to publish the complete data set in a peer-reviewed journal this year, is advancing this product into a phase III trial early next year, and has expanded studies of this immunotherapy to include cervical and head and neck cancer.

Each year, the award recognizes the therapeutic vaccine that addresses an unmet medical need and holds significant potential for vast geographical and market reach. This is the third consecutive year that Inovio's lead product has won this designation.

Also selected for recognition by the World Vaccine Congress as the "Best Academic Research Team" was the lab headed by Dr. David B. Weiner, Chair of Inovio's Scientific Advisory Board and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. This award, given annually to the research group that has produced products with a novel mode of action, seen them progress into human trials, and can demonstrate significant supportive research grants, was given to Dr. Weiner and his lab for making significant contributions to the field of DNA vaccines.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO, said, "There is a clear unmet need for a non-surgical option for women with cervical precancers around the world. We greatly appreciate the World Vaccine Congress' recognition of Inovio's VGX-3100 potential to address this opportunity.

"I'm also pleased to see my mentor and collaborator, Dave Weiner, recognized for his body of work out of which the field of DNA vaccines emerged. His lab continues to introduce not only an array of new products but is also advancing important new technology innovations.

"These two awards highlight the focused research and clinical development that are the foundation of Inovio's intellectual property and commercial goals. With a core technology consisting of proprietary DNA-based plasmids and electroporation delivery, we now have multiple approaches to optimize the immune system's inherent capabilities to fight cancers and infectious diseases."

About the ViE Awards

The World Vaccine Congress & Expo, now in its 15th year, is the largest and most comprehensive event in the industry. Covering everything from the latest R&D to manufacturing to corporate development strategies, the Congress hosts the only awards ceremony dedicated to the vaccine industry. The ViE Awards honor individuals, organizations and initiatives which have made significant contributions over the past 12 months to innovation in the field of vaccines.

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Inovio is revolutionizing the fight against cancer and infectious diseases. Our immunotherapies uniquely activate best-in-class immune responses to prevent and treat disease, and have shown clinically significant efficacy 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 Roche, MedImmune, University of Pennsylvania, DARPA, 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, 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, including INO-5150, and to commence a phase I clinical trial for INO-5150 in the first half of 2015, 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, 2014, 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.