GenVec Highlights Proprietary Gorilla Vectors At ASGCT Presentation

GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- GenVec, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNVC) announced today that Douglas E. Brough, the company's chief scientific officer, gave a presentation entitled "Gorilla Adenovirus Vectors for Molecular Therapeutics and Vaccines" at the 18^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. The presentation highlighted the results of preclinical research conducted using the company's propriety adenovirus vectors originally isolated from mountain gorillas.  These adenovectors have demonstrated superior performance to induce high level durable antigen specific antibody and T cell responses in GenVec's preclinical models for respiratory syncytial virus, herpes simplex virus, and malaria from a single administration. GenVec is working to test these 'gorilla Ads' in a variety of configurations through research conducted by its own laboratories and through collaborations and partnerships.

"Adenoviruses can be engineered to prevent their replication and to carry the genetic code for desirable therapeutic proteins or antigens. These properties make them excellent delivery vehicles, or vectors, for gene-based therapeutics and vaccines," said Douglas E. Brough, GenVec's chief scientific officer. "However, the practical utility of these vectors can be hampered by the presence of neutralizing antibodies, which can attack the vector before it has a chance to deliver its therapeutic gene payload. We're excited about our gorilla vectors because the human population does not have pre-existing immunity that can interfere with their effectiveness. In addition, our research indicates that they show superior performance characteristics for molecular vaccines, eliciting robust T cell and immune responses even with a single administration, and further enhanced responses with repeat administrations.

GenVec's presentation took place at a session entitled Recent Advances and Applications in Adenovirus Vectors and the slides can be accessed at www.genvec.com in the News/Events section under the Investors and Media tab.

About GenVec

GenVec is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with an entrepreneurial focus on leveraging its proprietary adenovector gene delivery platform to develop a pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutics and vaccines. The company is a pioneer in the design, testing and manufacture of adenoviral-based product candidates that can deliver on the promise of gene-based medicine. GenVec's lead product candidate, CGF166, is licensed to Novartis and is currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical study for the treatment of hearing loss and balance disorders. In addition to our internal and partnered pipeline, we also focus on opportunities to license our proprietary technology platform, including vectors and production cell lines, for the development and manufacture of therapeutics and vaccines to the biopharmaceutical industry. Additional information about GenVec is available at www.genvec.com and in the company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Statements herein relating to future financial or business performance, conditions or strategies and other financial and business matters, including with respect to GenVec's hearing loss and balance disorders program are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.  GenVec cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or historical experience include risks and uncertainties, such as the failure of Novartis to advance GenVec's hearing loss and balance disorders program.  Further information on the factors and risks that could affect GenVec's business, financial conditions and results of operations, are contained in GenVec's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available at www.sec.gov.  These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and GenVec assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

Contact:         
GenVec, Inc.                           
Rena Cohen                
(240) 632-5501                      
[email protected]

SOURCE GenVec, Inc.

Related Links

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