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February 11, 2009
NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PATENT FOR ADVAXIS ISSUED
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Assigned Patent Number 7,488,487 To The Trustees of the University Of Pennsylvania and Licensed To Advaxis
North Brunswick, NJ – February 11, 2009 – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued today patent 7,488,487 “Methods of Inducing Immune Response Through the Administration of Auxotrophic Attenuated DAL/DAT Double Mutant Listeria Strains,“ by Dr. Fred Frankel, et al, which is assigned to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and licensed to Advaxis, Incorporated (OTCBB: ADXS) .
Advaxis developed this work as a new strain of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), currently in laboratory testing, which is to be used in Advaxis’ second generation of live Listeria vaccines. In preliminary testing, this strain appears to be less virulent and more immunogenic than prior strains.
“It is interesting to see how different strains of bioengineered Listeria have different levels of effectiveness depending upon the disease to be treated,“ said Executive VP of Science and Operations Dr. John Rothman. “Clearly, one strain is not best for all disease indications, which supports our active program of Listeria and antigen development, as well as other activities that will allow us to construct different vaccines with different properties most suited for clinical use.“
The Company’s first Lm strain is currently in clinical testing for human papilloma virus (HPV)-induced disease, including cancer of the cervix.
Advaxis Chairman and CEO Thomas A. Moore commented, “As our research team furthers our Lm platform and works on additional strains, some of which are less virulent than others, we are committed to fulfilling the potential that live Listeria-based delivery systems brings to the treatment of cancer.“
About Advaxis, Incorporated
Based in North Brunswick, New Jersey, Advaxis is developing proprietary Listeria monocytogenes (“Lm”) cancer vaccines based on technology developed by Dr. Yvonne Paterson, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania and Chairperson of Advaxis’ Scientific Advisory Board. Advaxis is developing therapeutic cancer vaccines that enhance the immune system’s cancer fighting abilities through its proprietary Lm based system, which utilizes multiple simultaneous immunological mechanisms and which has been safely administered to patients with end-stage cervical cancer in a Phase I trial. Advaxis’ lead Listeria vaccine candidate, Lovaxin C, targets HPV-associated cancers such as cervical and head and neck. Recently, Advaxis completed a Phase I clinical trial of Lovaxin C. A Phase II clinical trial is planned for patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (“CIN”). The company intends to start this study in CIN 2/3 patients by mid 2009. The Lm platform also has applications in the fields of infectious disease and autoimmune disorders. For further information on the Company, please visit: www.advaxis.com.
About the Lovaxin-C Vaccine
Advaxis’ Listeria technology platform uses modified Listeria monocytogenes to deliver a tumor-specific antigen fusion protein. Preclinical studies have shown that bioengineered and attenuated Listeria secreting Advaxis’ proprietary fusion protein, have the ability to generate a robust immune response, break immune tolerance to cancer and produce an unusually strong and effective multi-level therapeutic immune response to existing cancer and other diseases.
The Company’s Listeria-based technology is the product of over a decade’s worth of work by Dr. Yvonne Paterson in her laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. Preclinical studies have shown that the Company’s proprietary antigen fusion protein technology, stimulates innate immunity, both arms of the adaptive cellular immune system, suppresses regulatory T-cells that inhibit many vaccines in the function of activated tumor-killing cells and has other anti-tumor effects.
Unlike prophylactic vaccines, Lovaxin-C was designed to treat women who have already developed cervical cancer as a result of contracting a human papilloma virus (“HPV”) infection, which is the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease in the US. Current products on the market are ineffective in treating HPV-infected women.
For further information on Lovaxin-C, please visit: www.advaxis.com/lc.htm.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained herein that are not purely historical are forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements deal with the Company’s current plans, intentions, beliefs and expectations and statements of future economic performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from what is currently anticipated. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those discussed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cannot guarantee its future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
