BERKELEY, CA (December 15, 1998): Injections of proprietary immunostimulatory DNA sequences (ISS-DNA), under development by Dynavax Technologies Corporation, can alter the nature of the immune response in allergic asthma, while also inhibiting the symptoms of that disease, the company announced. Dynavax scientists and their collaborators published research in the December 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology showing that a single systemic or mucosal (intranasal or intratracheal) administration of ISS-DNA in an animal model of allergic asthma inhibited disease symptoms as effectively as systemic corticosteroids administered daily for seven days. Moreover, unlike the corticosteroids, ISS-DNA injections were able to redirect the immune response away from the strong Th2 response associated with allergic inflammation toward a non-allergic Th1 response.
"This study demonstrates in vivo, for the first time, that ISS-DNA can be used as a drug to both inhibit and modify allergic disease," said Dino Dina, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Dynavax. "In fact, our lead ISS-DNA molecule has proven active in every animal species that Dynavax scientists and their collaborators have tested to date, including primates. Based on their research, we believe that ISS-DNA therapy may provide a totally novel, highly effective therapy for chronic allergic pulmonary inflammation."
The Journal of Immunology study was authored by Dynavax founder, Eyal Raz, M.D. and David Broide, M.B. Ch.B. of the Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego; and their collaborators Helen Tighe, Ph.D., Minh-Duc Nguyen, and Siamak Malek at Dynavax; Tim Gifford and John Van Uden at the University of California, San Diego; and Jurgen Schwarze, M.D. and Erwin W. Gelfand, M.D. at the Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, CO.
In the study, the researchers used a mouse model of allergen-induced airway
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Contact: Joan Kureczka
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415-821-2413
Kureczka/Martin Associates
15-Dec-1998