Jim Laufenberg, CEO ImmunoGenetix, “Advanced DNA Immunotherapies for HIV Infection” Video Interview Biotech Showcase 2012

http://immunogenetix.com/

ImmunoGenetix Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing advanced DNA immunotherapies for HIV infection. SNNLive spoke with Jim Laufenberg, President & CEO of ImmunoGenetix at the Biotech Showcase 2012 in San Francisco, CA. GenePro, the company’s lead product candidate incorporates a proprietary DNA construct that yields high levels of gene expression and non-infectious HIV protein production, and induces a robust antibody and cellular immune response in animal models.

As Mr. Laufenberg states, “the promise of GenePro is that it can prevent HIV from progressing into full-blown AIDS in a less toxic manner”, where he claims the company, “can deliver a therapeutic approach to this patient population in a safer manner.” Mr. Laufenberg goes on to describe how GenePro works: “The DNA composition mimics the virus, which allows the immune system to generate an immune response that we would normally do, but we can’t do right now with HIV. 3% of the population are called “elite controllers” or “long-term non-progressers”, and they generate a memory cell that identifies HIV. This is what GenePro does; we’ve shown that in public studies, in non-human primates, that we can generate these memory cells.”

The company is currently in manufacturing right now, where ImmunoGenetix received a local grant in Kansas from the Kansas BioScience Authority, and are looking forward to taking the drug through its final toxicity studies, “so we can hopefully be in human trials by the end of this year”, Mr. Laufenberg concludes. For more information about ImmunoGenetix, check out their website. SNNLive welcomes back Jim Laufenberg, President & CEO of ImmunoGenetix.

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