Inovio Biomedical Closes Merger with VGX Pharmaceuticals

We are living in an era of some significant mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Inovio Biomedical closed their merger with VGX Pharmaceuticals, where Dr. J. Joseph Kim (also an MIT alum) will be transitioning from the CEO of VGX Pharmaceuticals to the new CEO and director of Inovio Biomedical. He was recently quoted as saying, “Better vaccine design and delivery are two critical requirements to achieving breakthroughs for this new generation of vaccines. Inovio today has world-class DNA vaccine expertise and technology, with leading competencies in these areas. With compelling preclinical data and encouraging proof-of-principle data from human studies already in hand, we are optimistic about Inovio’s potential to achieve additional clinical results that will highlight the company’s leadership in DNA vaccine development.”

Inovio's senior management team will now consist of:

• J. Joseph Kim, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Director
• Avtar S. Dhillon, M.D., President and Chairman of the Board
• Peter D. Kies, Chief Financial Officer
• C. Jo White, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
• Niranjan Y. Sardesai, Ph.D., Senior VP, Research and Development
• Kevin W. Rassas, Senior VP, Business Development

I wonder if Inovio Biomedical will be one of the first companies to develop a novel vaccine against the swine flu.