Inovio, Penn receive flu vaccine research funds

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the University of Pennsylvania received a $3.1 million federal grant to develop a universal flu vaccine, the Blue Bell company announced today.

The money comes from the National Institutes of Health and will be used for Inovio's SynCon vaccine, which aims to bypass the requirement to target an annual strain of flu. SynCon is intended to protect against all flu strains that pose a risk to humans.

Dr. David B. Weiner, a professor of pathology & laboratory medicine at Penn and chairman of Inovio's scientific advisory board, will lead the research collaboration.

Inovio is developing therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases.    -Paul Schweizer