Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. recently announced that it has made a definitive agreement with Bioject Medical Technologies Inc., in which Inovio acquires assets from Bioject.
Specific assets include the devices, technology and intellectual property that are part of Bioject’s innovative needle-free jet injection method. The agreement requires Inovio to pay $5.5 million in stocks and cash to Bioject.
Inovio will use the current material from Bioject to develop an integrated non-invasive delivery device. It will combine Bioject’s technology with the novel needle-free, skin-surface electroporation (EP) technology from Inovio.
Inovio’s goal is to create preventive immunization with its DNA vaccines, which will help protect people from serious infectious diseases that currently have unmet needs, particularly among large populations.
“Our current DNA delivery method is highly effective and already gets the job done,” Inovio CEO J. Joseph Kim said. “However, to fully realize the opportunity of mass immunization against challenging infectious diseases, we believed we could create an additional advantage: that is, non-invasive vaccine administration. Similar to our past acquisitions of Advisys and Inovio AS, this purchase of Bioject’s superior jet injection technology and well-positioned patents is an investment in Inovio’s future. Jet injection alone cannot achieve the utility of DNA vaccines. However, combined with our new needle-free skin-surface electroporation delivery technology, we believe we can offer a compelling solution to protect against RSV, ever-changing influenza strains and emerging infectious diseases like Zika.”
