OSLO, NORWAY and BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - December 5, 2008) - Bionor Immuno officials today
accepted the Norwegian Research Council's prestigious "Most Innovative
Company of the Year" award. The award is determined by a panel of 3,500
business leaders who review 10 leading candidate-companies. The results
are analyzed by Perduco, a Norwegian-based leader in public and private
sector analysis and communication.
"We are enormously proud of this award from the Norwegian Research
Council," said Birger Sørensen, President and CEO of Bionor Immuno. "Our
pursuit of advances in treatment for patients with HIV and other
immune-response related illnesses has stepped into high gear, and on behalf
of the researchers, management and staff of Bionor Immuno, we're honored to
be recognized."
Bionor Immuno's Unique Approach to HIV Treatment
Based in Oslo with an office in Bethesda, Maryland, Bionor Immuno has an
ambitious aim to bring modified peptide-based investigational therapies to
market for the treatment of patients with HIV, Hepatitis, and Influenza.
Bionor Immuno currently is recruiting volunteers in the U.S. and in Europe
to participate in a Phase IIB clinical trial for its lead HIV therapeutic
candidate Vacc-4x. Though frequently referred to as an HIV vaccine,
Vacc-4x is being studied for its sustainable therapeutic value in well
controlled, HIV positive patients, who, after a series of inoculations with
the investigational agent, are able to maintain viral suppression and
robust T-Cell counts in absence of their daily anti-retroviral (ART)
regimen. Data in earlier clinical trials have shown patients who received
Vacc-4x were able to go an average of 31 months off
anti-retroviral therapy before restarting a standard ART regimen. For the
full appreciation of these unique data, it should be noted that previous
experience has shown that ART usually cannot be interrupted for more than 3
to 4 months.
Patients, medical professionals, and researchers seeking more information
on the trial should visit
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00659789?term=vacc-4x&rank=1.
"This is the largest current therapeutic vaccine trial in the
world, involving 345 patients," said Richard Pollard, MD, Chief, Division
of Infectious Diseases, AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, Northern California
Center for AIDS, University of California, Davis Medical School, and
Principle Investigator for the trial. "This trial will establish a solid
foundation for HIV immune therapies if we can maintain immunogenicity
during drug free periods."
About Vacc-4x Peptide Therapeutic Candidate
Vacc-4x has been tested in two clinical trials exposing the vaccine to 11
and 38 HIV patients, respectively. In both studies the vaccine was found
to be safe and well tolerated. In the Phase IIa study comprising 38
patients, the primary objective was to measure immune responses to Vacc-4x.
Subjects were initially maintained stable on anti-retroviral therapy while
treated over a period of 26 weeks with a series of Vacc-4x immunizations at
a low or high dose. This immunization phase included also an ART-free
window, or "holiday," during which antigen stimulation was allowed.
-- The majority of volunteers experienced a pronounced therapeutic effect
allowing them to remain off ART following completion of the study (Week
52). While being off ART the patients CD4+ cell counts remained high above
the level they had before they had ART commenced by their treating
physician.
-- Due to this pronounced clinical response, permission was granted to
follow the subjects until they resumed ART. The median treatment
interruption achieved for all subjects in the Vacc-4x Phase 2a clinical
study was 31 months. The duration of treatment interruption was linked to
immune responsiveness to the peptides.
-- At a follow up 44 months after treatment interruption, 34 percent of
the patients were still not back on ART treatment. Previous experience has
shown that ART usually cannot be interrupted for more than 3 to 4 months.
About Bionor Immuno
Bionor Immuno is a biotechnology leader in next generation vaccine design,
using a combination of biological data and screening methods with a
patented approach to bioinformatics and computational sciences. The
Company develops unique synthetic peptide vaccines that stimulate cell
mediated immunity. Previous efforts made to utilize T-cell stimulation for
vaccines have been notoriously unsuccessful and a new approach is needed.
Bionor Immuno carefully designs synthetic (modified) peptides with improved
efficacy and safety profiles. Among the diseases targeted by Bionor Immuno
researchers are chronic infections caused by HIV, HCV (Hepatitis C), HPV
(Human Papilloma Virus) and Influenza. Bionor Immuno's platform technology
is universally applicable to a broad range of projects including vaccines
targeting common cancer diseases. Bionor Immuno has R&D facilities in
Skien, Norway, corporate headquarters in Oslo, and subsidiary based in
Bethesda, Maryland. More information is available at
www.bionorimmuno.com.
Contact Information: Contacts:
Jeff Hackman
Bionor Immuno, Inc.
Sr. Vice President, Commercial and Business Development
301-571-9395
David Sheon
For Bionor Immuno
202-470-2880