GAITHERSBURG, Md., Apr. 24 /PRNewswire/ --

GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GenVec, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has signed an expansion to its existing agreement with the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (VRC/NIAID/NIH), which is directed to HIV-1 vaccine development, to also allow the VRC/NIAID/NIH and GenVec to begin development of a clinical grade vaccine against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) using GenVec's adenovector technology.

Under the contract amendment, issued and managed by SAIC of Frederick, Inc., GenVec will receive $420,000 and will be responsible for constructing and producing clinical grade adenovector-based vaccine candidates against SARS. The VRC/NIAID/NIH will test the vaccine candidates in preclinical models to assess safety and efficacy. Clinical trials in humans could commence following successful preclinical testing results.

"The VRC/NIAID/NIH and GenVec are responding rapidly to this emerging public health threat," commented Dr. C. Richter King, GenVec's Vice President, Research. He continued, "Our technology is highly versatile and allows us to rapidly address a variety of global health threats, as highlighted by our existing vaccine programs for HIV, malaria and dengue virus infections. The existence of our HIV vaccine development program and our productive relationship with the VRC/NIAID/NIH, has allowed GenVec to move quickly to address a newly defined infectious target, such as SARS, without having to significantly redirect company resources."

SARS is an emerging health threat that is believed to have originated in China, with cases now being reporting in more than 25 countries including the United States. It is highly contagious, with more than 4,400 reported cases worldwide, and inflicts a risk of death estimated at 6% of those infected. The agent that purportedly causes the disease, from the Coronavirus family, has been identified. The recently completed sequence of the SARS Coronavirus genome will be used by the VRC/NIAID/NIH and GenVec to develop preventative adenoviral vector vaccine candidates.

GenVec is a publicly-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of products that produce medically beneficial proteins at the site of disease. The Company combines its patented gene transfer technologies with proprietary therapeutic genes to create product candidates, such as TNFerade(TM) for cancer, BIOBYPASS(R) for heart disease, and AdPEDF for macular degeneration. The Company is also collaborating with the U.S. government for the development of therapeutic vaccine candidates for HIV, malaria, dengue virus, and SARS. Additional information on GenVec is available at its web site located at http://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 expectations regarding future revenues and operating expenses, are forward- looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "assume," "plan," "outlook," "prospect," and variations of such words and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may," or similar expressions. GenVec cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical experience: risks relating to the early stage of product candidates under development, risks relating to GenVec's ability to identify and enter into agreements with potential collaborative partners, uncertainties relating to clinical trials, dependence on third parties, future capital needs, and risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of GenVec's proposed product candidates (such as marketing, regulatory, patent, product liability, supply, competition and other risks). GenVec's SEC reports identify additional factors that can affect forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and GenVec assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

GenVec, Inc.

CONTACT: Ginny Dunn, Corporate Communications of GenVec, Inc.,
+1-301-944-1172, or gdunn@genvec.com