http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/125526_targeted07.html

Saturday, June 7, 2003

Biotech firm to test AIDS vaccine

By ANGELA ZIMM
BLOOMBERG NEWS

Targeted Genetics Corp., an unprofitable developer of gene-therapy drugs, said yesterday that it will start human tests of an AIDS vaccine this year after seeing positive results in animal studies. The company's stock jumped 66 percent on the news.

The company's tgAACO9 vaccine prompted an immune response in rabbits, Targeted Genetics said in a statement. Safety testing in humans will begin in the second half of 2003, the Seattle-based company said.

There is no vaccine for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and as many as 900,000 people in the United States are infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Successful trials may help Targeted Genetics raise capital, analysts said.

"It's a big talking market," said Paul Abel, manager of the Kinetics Medical Fund, which owns about 10,000 shares of Targeted Genetics. "This will probably afford them the opportunity to further capitalize the company."

The stock rose $1.59 to $4 in Nasdaq trading. The shares more than doubled yesterday after the company reported that in a study, its gene therapy for cystic fibrosis helped improve patients' lung function.

Health experts say a vaccine is the best way to stop the spread of AIDS, which threatens to kill 68 million people worldwide by 2020, according to the United Nations. Researchers have been trying to develop such a vaccine since the 1980s, when scientists first identified HIV and its genetic code.

Because of HIV's ability to mutate, the virus is a difficult target. Earlier this year, VaxGen Inc.'s AIDS vaccine AIDSVAX failed to show it could protect against HIV in a 5,009-patient test, the largest study of its kind.

Other companies, including Merck & Co. and Aventis SA, are also working on AIDS vaccines.

Earlier this year, Targeted Genetics reduced its work force and cut some research programs to conserve cash for developing its AIDS vaccine and cystic fibrosis and arthritis therapies.

101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000

Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820

Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
©1996-2003 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Service/Privacy Policy