Vical licenses core technology to Stanford, Harvard and Yale

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Jan. 24 - Vical Inc. said Tuesday that the company has granted nonexclusive academic licenses for its broad DNA delivery technology patent estate to three of the nation's top research institutions - Stanford, Harvard and Yale universities.

The licenses are intended to encourage widespread commercial use of the company's innovative DNA delivery technologies in the development of new antibodies, vaccines, therapeutic proteins and diagnostics, according to a company news release.

The nonexclusive academic licenses allow university researchers to use Vical's technology free of charge for educational and internal, noncommercial research purposes, officials said.

In exchange, Vical said it will have the option to exclusively license from the universities potential commercial applications stemming from the technology on terms to be negotiated.

Vical said its patent-protected technology allows delivery of genetic material into living cells in the body without the use of viruses.

The convenience, safety and simplicity of Vical's method have driven its advance from initial discovery in the late 1980s to its use now by many of the world's most prestigious medical and scientific researchers, officials said.

"We are very fortunate to have pioneered a fundamental method of DNA delivery that has become a standard tool of researchers worldwide, and products based on our technology now have begun entering the commercial markets. One of the biggest challenges, though, in owning a technology like this is encouraging its widespread use without jeopardizing its proprietary nature," Vijay B. Samant, Vical's president and chief executive officer, said in the release.

The academic licensing program allows Vical to effectively manage the patent estate and realize the full potential of its technologies, Samant said.

Vical, based in San Diego, researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies for the prevention and treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.