Germany Begins its First AIDS Vaccine Trial, Partnering with IAVI

[Guest guest]

Press Release

Source: International AIDS Vaccine Initiative

Germany Begins its First AIDS Vaccine Trial, Partnering with IAVI

Monday February 16, 7:13 am ET

BERLIN, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- German scientists, working as part of an

international partnership, are beginning the country's first human trial

of a vaccine candidate designed to prevent AIDS. A preventive vaccine is

widely considered the best hope to stop the epidemic's continuing

spread.

The trial will be conducted at two sites: Universitaetsklinikum Bonn and

Universitaetsklinikum Eppendorf in Hamburg. The universities are

partnering with the not-for-profit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative

(IAVI), the biotechnology company Targeted Genetics Corp. (Nasdaq:

TGEN - News) and Columbus Children's Research Institute (CCRI).

Government regulatory approval to begin the trial has been granted by

the Kommittee fuer Somatische Gentherapie (KSG).

Dr. Jan van Lunzen, MD, serves as Principal Investigator of the trial.

Dr. van Lunzen said: " Preventive vaccines have ended smallpox, nearly

eradicated polio and controlled dozens of other deadly diseases. With

this new trial in Germany, we bring the world a step closer to a vaccine

that will end AIDS. "

The vaccine candidate being tested in the trial is named tgAAC09. It was

designed by Targeted Genetics and CCRI. tgAAC09 attempts to elicit

immune system responses to prevent people from becoming infected with

HIV and developing AIDS.

IAVI provides full financial support for the research and development of

tgAAC09. Dr. Seth Berkley, MD, President and CEO of IAVI, said: " We are

pleased that Germany's top scientists are joining the global effort to

develop a preventive AIDS vaccine. Their commitment is crucial as we

speed progress toward a vaccine. "

Deutsche AIDS Stiftung (DAS), Germany's national AIDS advocacy group,

hailed the start of the trial: " We will win against AIDS only by

fighting on multiple fronts. As Germany works to blunt AIDS with

existing tools, we must also search for new tools, chief among them a

preventive vaccine, " said Ulrich Heide, Chief Executive Officer of DAS.

The trial is also being conducted in Belgium. The trial will enroll up

to 50 volunteers, men and women, in Germany and Belgium combined. It

will test the safety of tgAAC09 and if it elicits immune responses. If

so, tgAAC09 may advance to more and larger trials.

Each day, 14,000 people become infected with HIV, 95% in developing

countries. Worldwide, IAVI estimates, roughly 25 preventive vaccine

candidates are in human trials on six continents. Five of these advanced

from the concept stage to trials with IAVI support.

Contacts:

* Jannette Esguerra, IAVI, New York, +1 917 604 0141,

jesguerra@...

* Nord, IAVI, Amsterdam, +31 06 487 54631 or +31 20 521

0033,

mnord@...

* Self, Targeted Genetics, Seattle, +1 206 521 7392,

selfc@...

About IAVI

IAVI (www.iavi.org) is a global not-for-profit organization working to

speed the search for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS,

focusing on developing countries. Founded in 1996 and operational in 22

countries, IAVI and its network of scientific partners research and

develop AIDS vaccine candidates. IAVI also works to assure that a

vaccine will be globally accessible. IAVI's major financial supporters

include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the Rockefeller, Sloan and

Starr foundations; the World Bank; BD (Becton, Dickinson & Co.); the

European Commission; and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Ireland,

the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United

States.

About Targeted Genetics

Targeted Genetics Corp. (Nasdaq: TGEN; www.targetedgenetics.com)

develops gene-based products for preventing and treating acquired and

inherited diseases. The Company has two clinical product development

programs, targeting cystic fibrosis and AIDS prophylaxis, and expects to

initiate clinical testing of its arthritis product candidate in the

first quarter of 2004. The Company also has a promising pipeline of

product candidates focused on hemophilia and cancer and a broad platform

of gene delivery technologies as well as a promising body of technology

for cellular therapy under development by its subsidiary company,

CellExSys.

About CCRI

Columbus Children's Research Institute (CCRI; www.ccri.net) on the

campus of Columbus Children's Hospital discovers novel approaches to

human diseases through research that ranges from basic molecular biology

to applied, patient- oriented research. In 2002, the Institute conducted

more than 500 research projects. CCRI ranks among the top 10 in National

Institutes of Health research awards to free-standing children's

hospitals in the US. CCRI is dedicated to enhancing the health of

children and their families locally, nationally and globally.

Source: International AIDS Vaccine Initiative

http://biz./prnews/040216/nym028_1.html

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org