SEATTLE, Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --TapImmune, Inc. (OTCQB: TPIV), is pleased to announce a new collaborative research agreement with The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida), a leading, non-profit biomedical research institute, forming a partnership to advance TapImmune's proprietary, cancer vaccines into Phase II human clinical trials for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancers.
These highly promising therapeutic cancer vaccine candidates were developed by VGTI Florida's Director of Cancer Vaccines and Immune Therapies Program, Keith Knutson, Ph.D. The goal is to prevent breast and ovarian cancer recurrence for patients who achieve remissions following standard-of-care treatment. The vaccine works by enabling the immune system to target and eradicate any residual cancer cells or newly arising cancer cells that express the antigens delivered by the vaccine. TapImmune has already announced interim data on both clinical programs that exceeded its expectations for immune responses in the treated patients.
VGTI Florida will work with TapImmune to design and execute the Phase II clinical programs. This includes the design of the clinical protocols, selection of clinical trial sites, recruitment of key opinion leaders as clinical advisors, and selection of external manufacturing and clinical resources.
TapImmune had previously announced the licensing of these vaccines technologies for the treatment of HER2/neu breast cancer and ovarian and breast cancer developed in the laboratory of Dr. Keith Knutson while at the Mayo Clinic.
TapImmune's CEO, Glynn Wilson commented: "We are delighted to establish this collaboration with the Center for the Diseases of Aging at VGTI Florida to expand our relationship with Dr. Keith Knutson and leverage their unique experience in breast and ovarian cancer vaccine development and clinical trial design as we move our clinical programs into Phase II trials."
About TapImmune Inc.
TapImmune Inc. is an immunotherapy company specializing in the development of innovative vaccine technologies for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease. The Company's vaccine compositions, peptide or nucleic acid-based, comprise one or multiple naturally processed epitopes (NPEs) designed to comprehensively stimulate a patients' killer T-cells, helper T-cells and to restore or further augment antigen presentation by using proprietary nucleic acid-based expression systems. The Company's vaccine compositions may be used as stand-alone medications or in combination with current treatment modalities. Please visit the Company's website at www.tapimmune.com for details.
About the Center for Diseases of Aging at VGTI Florida:
The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) biomedical research institute. The Center for the Diseases of Aging is a joint mission with researchers from Sweden's Karolinska Institute (KI), known for awarding the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology annually. This initiative was made possible by a $3 million follow-on investment by the State of Florida and will accelerate the advancement of VGTI Florida's core competencies in developing genome-based approaches that target the treatment of infectious disease, cancers, neurodegenerative conditions, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders using next-generation approaches such as regenerative medicine and personalized immunotherapies. For more information, please visit: www.vgtifl.org
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including the risk factors discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Glynn Wilson, PH.D., Chairman & CEO +1-866-359-7541
Investor Relations :
J.Streicher Capital, LLC.
Robert Giordano Tel: +1-212-257-5495 Cell: +1-917-327-3938 rgiordano@jstreichercapital.com
SOURCE TapImmune Inc.