Immune Design Corp. and Sanofi-Aventis Announce Research Collaboration

SEATTLE, Oct. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Immune Design Corp. (IDC), a privately held biotechnology company developing novel vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious disease, cancer and allergy, announced today that it has entered into an early-stage research collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis to investigate the use of IDC's Glucopyranosyl Lipid Adjuvant (GLA) technology, a toll–like receptor 4 (TLR-4) agonist, in the field of allergy.

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"We are excited to form this relationship with Sanofi," noted IDC CEO Carlos Paya, MD, Ph.D.  "The application of next-generation TLR-4 agonists able to shape the immune response in allergic disease has enormous therapeutic potential.  Our initial collaboration has the strong possibility to lead to a broader development focused partnership with Sanofi in the near future."

Under the agreement, IDC will provide access to the GLA technology, allowing Sanofi the ability to evaluate the biological and immunological properties of this TLR-4 agonist in vitro and in allergy disease models, and will be granted an option to select lead candidates for further development.  The terms have not been disclosed.    

IDC has advanced the GLA technology into early clinical stage development.  This technology can be used to promote optimal activation of human dendritic cells, has demonstrated compatibility with many antigens, and has a well-established safety profile to date.

Additional information can be found on the company's website at www.immunedesign.com.

Media Relations

Immune Design Corp.
Cassie Ostrander
Phone:  206-826-7901
E-mail:  [email protected]

SOURCE Immune Design Corp.