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TECHNOLOGY

About DNA Medicine

INOVIO’s DNA medicine platform harnesses the power of in vivo protein production allowing us to create therapies that are designed to enable the body to manufacture its own disease-fighting tools. We engineer customized DNA plasmids — small circular DNA molecules – that work like software that the body’s cells can download to produce specific proteins to target and fight disease. Our proprietary investigational CELLECTRA® devices are designed to deliver the plasmids into the body’s cells for optimal effect, without the use of chemical adjuvants, lipid nanoparticles or viral vectors.

DNA Medicines: Customized In Vivo-Generated Proteins

INOVIO's DNA medicine process in five stages: target selection; bioengineering and gene sequencing; a precisely designed plasmid combining a selected gene with a plasmid backbone to form the DNA medicine; delivery into the arm using INOVIO's proprietary CELLECTRA device; and, inside the cell, DNA transcribed to RNA and translated into an amino acid chain. The result is four mechanisms of action: antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells to treat disease, binding and neutralizing antibodies plus T cells to prevent disease, monoclonal antibodies to prevent disease, and therapeutic proteins.

INOVIO’s DNA medicines platform enables tailored and sustained in vivo protein expression that can:

  • Induce cytotoxic T cells to target specific cancers or viral infections
  • Produce monoclonal antibodies for both prevention and treatment of disease
  • Achieve therapeutic levels of protein expression to support disease control in enzyme/protein replacement diseases

In Vivo Target Protein Production

We can design our plasmids to enable the body’s cells to produce a wide range of proteins, including antigens to elicit a specific immune response, monoclonal antibodies to fight a specific pathogen, or therapeutic proteins to replace defective or missing proteins in the body. Our versatile platform is able to generate antigen-targeted humoral and cellular immune responses, including antigen-specific cytotoxic or killer T cell responses that are important for fighting cancer and viral infections.

Proprietary Delivery Devices (CELLECTRA®)

Nucleic acid-based medicines need a pathway into the cell to work effectively. INOVIO uses proprietary delivery technology to help ensure our DNA medicines get where they need to be to make an impact – inside the cell, providing instructions to produce proteins to fight disease. After injecting the DNA medicine into either skin or muscle tissue, CELLECTRA uses electroporation (short electrical pulses) to briefly open small pores in the cell membrane to help the DNA plasmids enter.

Key Features of Our DNA Medicines Platform