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January 6, 2003
For Immediate
Release
Dynavax
and University of California Announce Issuance of Landmark
Asthma Patent
First
Patent Covering Delivery of ISS Alone to Treat Disease
BERKELEY,
Calif., /PRNewswire/ -- Dynavax Technologies, a privately
held biopharmaceutical company, and the Regents of the
University of California today announced that the University
has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,498,148 B1 (the '148
patent), covering the use of Dynavax's ISS (immunostimulatory
DNA sequences) alone to treat asthma. Dynavax is the
exclusive licensee of the '148 patent, giving Dynavax
a significant position in the rapidly developing field
of ISS treatment of asthma.
ISS are
short synthetic DNA sequences that have been shown to
strengthen an insufficient immune response against foreign
pathogens and cancer, and to suppress an inappropriate
immune response against otherwise harmless environmental
substances, known as allergens. Dynavax is developing
ISS-based therapies for a wide variety of diseases,
including asthma, allergy, cancer and viral infections.
"This patent
provides Dynavax with exclusivity in what we consider
to be the largest possible indication for ISS-based
treatments -- asthma," said Dino Dina, M.D., president
and chief executive officer of Dynavax. "Our inhaled
ISS formulation for asthma entered human clinical trials
in 2002."
The '148
patent reflects a significant breakthrough in ISS technology
-- the first demonstration that ISS alone, in the absence
of co-delivered antigen, could treat an immune-mediated
disease like asthma. The patent, which is based on seminal
work conducted by Eyal Raz, M.D. and colleagues at the
University of California, covers a method for treating
asthma by administering ISS molecules to a patient in
the absence of asthma-stimulating antigen or polynucleotides
encoding that antigen. This work was reported in the
Journal of Immunology in 1998. (Broide et al., Immunostimulatory
DNA Sequences Inhibit IL-5, Eosinophilic Inflammation,
and Airway Hyperresponsiveness in Mice, J. Immunol.
(1998) 161: 7054-7062.)
Allergic
asthma is a major health problem affecting an estimated
17 million Americans and more than 100 million individuals
worldwide. The prevalence and severity of asthma in
the U.S. and other developed countries is increasing,
causing significant impact both in terms of quality
of life and in the total costs associated with the disease.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by inflammation
of the airways typically driven by inflammatory responses
involving Th2 cells (T helper type 2 cells). Dynavax's
preclinical studies have demonstrated that ISS can reprogram
the immune response by reducing inflammatory Th2 responses
to allergens. In numerous mouse and primate studies,
ISS delivered to sensitized animals before, during or
after allergen challenge were shown to inhibit airway
hyper-reactivity and allergic inflammation.
About
Dynavax Technologies
Dynavax Technologies is a privately held biopharmaceutical
company developing innovative products to treat allergy,
inflammation-mediated diseases, infectious diseases
and cancer. The company’s lead products are based
on ImmunoStimulatory Sequences (ISS), short DNA sequences
that enhance the ability of the immune system to fight
disease and prevent inflammation. The company’s
two most advanced products are AIC, which has provided
positive results in recently completed phase II clinical
trials for the treatment of ragweed allergy, and a next-generation
hepatitis B vaccine that may offer single-dose protection.
Dynavax is also developing an oral TNF-alpha synthesis
inhibitor initially for the treatment of rheumatoid
arthritis. The company has collaborations with Aventis-Pasteur,
Triangle Pharmaceuticals and Stallergenes.
Contact:
Andrew Gengos
Chief Financial Officer
Dynavax Technologies Corporation
(510) 848-5100
/Web site:
www.dynavax.com
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