ChronTech Pharma, Transgene, and Inovio Pharmaceuticals to Collaborate on Prime-Boost Therapeutic Vaccination Against Hepatitis C

ChronTech Pharma, Transgene, and Inovio Pharmaceuticals to Collaborate
on Prime-Boost Therapeutic Vaccination Against Hepatitis C

Phase I study to assess safety and immunogenicity

ChronTech Pharma AB has signed a collaboration agreement with Transgene
S.A. (Euronext Paris: FR0005175080) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(NYSE Amex: INO) to evaluate a novel therapeutic vaccination strategy
against genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a phase I clinical study.

It is common to follow an initial “prime” vaccination with a “boost” of
the same vaccine to achieve the required level and durability of immune
protection. In this collaboration, the strategy is to use different
prime and boost vaccines with the goal of obtaining a clinical effect by
inducing different immune responses. A Phase I study, to be started
later this year, will use ChronTech's ChronVac-C® plasmid DNA vaccine
delivered by in vivo electroporation using Inovio's Medpulser® DDS as
the “prime” and Transgene's therapeutic vaccine TG4040, a modified
vaccinia Ankara (MVA), as the “boost”.

DNA based vaccines delivered using electroporation and MVA based
vaccines have been separately shown to be safe and immunogenic in
clinical studies. The ChronVac-C® DNA vaccine delivered by in vivo
electroporation using the Medpulser was recently reported to be safe and
generate antigen specific immune responses and antiviral effects in a
phase I/IIa clinical trial. Rapid virologic responses were seen in 5 out
of 7 of the patients receiving a post-vaccination standard of care
interferon-ribavirin therapy. TG4040 was itself shown to be safe and
immunogenic in a phase I program. Phase II studies in combination with
the standard of care are ongoing for both products. In preclinical
studies, the novel combination of these DNA and MVA vaccine approaches
demonstrated greater immune responses than those observed with the
vaccines injected separately.

In the planned phase I clinical study, each company will contribute
their respective products and equally share study related costs. The
study will enroll 12 treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C
at a site in Germany.

“We are very pleased to combine our ChronVac-C® vaccine delivered using
Inovio's Medpulser with Transgene's TG4040 MVA-based vaccine in a new
vaccination regimen. The extensive preclinical studies that have been
performed by the companies together with their unique clinical
experience has paved the way for this very exciting clinical trial,”
says ChronTech's CEO Anders Vahlne.

“It is our strategy to continuously enhance the efficiency of our
technology platforms. We are using the opportunity of this study to
explore the prime-boost approach in the context of therapeutic
vaccination against HCV,” stated Philippe Archinard, Chairman and CEO of
Transgene.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio's president and CEO, said: "We are pleased to
participate in this collaboration to develop a potentially more potent
HCV vaccine combination approach and to contribute Inovio's
electroporation delivery technology and its well-validated ability to
transform the potency of DNA vaccines. We look forward to entering the
clinic with this prime-boost approach that has demonstrated much promise
in preclinical studies."

For more information, please contact:

Anders Vahlne, CEO and Head of Research, ChronTech Pharma AB

Tel: +46 8 5858 1313, mobile phone: +46 709 28 05 28,
E-mail: anders.vahlne@ki.se (anders.vahlne@ki.se)

About chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV):

Chronic hepatitis C, with a disease prevalence exceeding 170 million
worldwide, is notoriously difficult to treat. Current standard of care
(a combination of pegylated interferon α and ribavirin) causes serious
side effects and cures only 45% of genotype-1 patients. New and more
effective drugs are in late stage development, but there remains a need
for an effective therapeutic vaccine with lower side effects relative to
drug regimens and that is better able to manage the chronic aspects of
the disease, prevent its progression to cancer, and reduce long term
treatment costs.

In this collaboration, ChronTech's ChronVac-C® DNA vaccine consists of a
codon-optimized NS3/4A gene. It is delivered using Inovio's MedPulser®
electroporation DNA Delivery System. Inovio's electroporation-based DNA
delivery systems dramatically increase cellular uptake of a DNA vaccine
and resulting gene expression (i.e. production of the coded protein) and
increase immune responses by 100 times or more compared to plasmid DNA
delivered without other delivery enhancements. Transgene's TG4040
product candidate is based on an MVA virus carrying and expressing
non-structural proteins NS3, NS4 and NS5B of hepatitis C virus.

About ChronTech

ChronTech develops the therapeutic DNA vaccines ChronVac-C® and
ChronVac-B drugs against chronic hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus
infections, i.e. chronic infections with jaundice causing viruses which
can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. ChronTech has also
developed and further develops a patent pending new type of injection
needle for a more effective uptake of DNA vaccines. ChronTech also have
part ownership in the wound healing therapy ChronSeal®, and in the new
platform technology RAS®. The ChronTech share is admitted to trade on
First North. Remium AB is Certified Adviser for ChronTech. For more
information, please visit: www.chrontech.se (http://www.chrontech.se/)

About Transgene:

Transgene, a member of the Institut Mérieux Group, is a publicly traded
French biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of
therapeutic vaccines and immunotherapeutic products in oncology and
infectious diseases and has five compounds in clinical development:
TG4010 and JX-594/TG6006 having completed initial Phase II trials,
TG4001 in Phase IIb trial, TG4040 in Phase II trial and TG4023 in Phase
I trial. Transgene has concluded strategic agreements for the
development of two of its immunotherapy products: an option agreement
with Novartis for the development of TG4010 to treat various cancers;
and, an in-licensing agreement with US-based Jennerex Biotherapeutics,
Inc., to develop and market JX-594/TG6006, an oncolytic product.
Transgene also has bio-manufacturing capacities for viral-based
products. Additional information about Transgene is available at
www.transgene.fr (http://www.transgene.fr/).

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's clinical programs include three separate
programs in Phase II clinical studies, including VGX-3100 for treating
cervical dysplasia and cancer. Other Inovio clinical programs include
those for avian flu (preventive) and HIV vaccines (both preventive and
therapeutic). Inovio is developing universal influenza and other
vaccines in collaboration with scientists from the University of
Pennsylvania. Other partners and collaborators include 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 (http://www.inovio.com/).

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