Fort Collins, CO and Singapore - January 27, 2011 - Inviragen, Inc. and the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School ("Duke-NUS") announced today that they have completed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a partnership between the two organizations. The goal of the partnership is to better understand how emerging infectious diseases are transmitted and how transmission can be prevented. Through this collaborative program, Inviragen and Duke-NUS aim to advance the research and development of vaccines against infectious diseases such as dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease and chikungunya.
"Scientists in the Duke-NUS Emerging Infectious Diseases Program are conducting world-class research into viral pathogenesis and host immunology, and are pioneering methods to improve detection of emerging viral infections," said Dr. Joseph Santangelo, Inviragen's chief operating officer. "By working with the researchers at Duke-NUS, we hope to improve public health in Singapore and worldwide by preventing the spread of viral diseases with safe and effective vaccines."
Dr. Patrick Casey, senior vice dean for research at Duke-NUS stated, "Inviragen's proven track record of translating vaccine research from the bench into the clinic was a key factor when considering a collaboration, and one that we believe complements our strengths at Duke-NUS." Dr. Duane Gubler, professor and director of the Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases at Duke-NUS continued, "Our strengths lie not only in the quality of our research, but in our partnerships with institutes, hospitals and organizations such as Inviragen. We look forward to combining our expertise to assist in the testing of Inviragen's vaccine products and to develop future products arising from infectious disease research at Duke-NUS."
The MOU calls for the formation of a management committee co-chaired by Dr. Casey and Dr. Dan Stinchcomb, chief executive officer of Inviragen, who will oversee the organizations' collaborative activities. Such activities include initiation of clinical trials in Singapore to study vaccines designed to protect against dengue fever and hand, foot and mouth disease.
About Inviragen, Inc.
Inviragen is focused on developing vaccines to protect against infectious diseases worldwide. Inviragen's lead product candidate is a vaccine to protect against dengue fever. Inviragen is also developing vaccines to protect against hand, foot and mouth disease, chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis which affect millions of individuals in Asia. Vaccines in preclinical research stages include a low-cost human papilloma virus vaccine, vaccines to protect against new forms of influenza, a vaccine to protect against West Nile and a combination plague/smallpox vaccine for biodefense. Inviragen has offices in Colorado, Wisconsin and Singapore. Please see www.inviragen.com for more details.
About Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore
The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS) was established in 2005 as a strategic collaboration between the Duke University School of Medicine, located in N. Carolina, USA and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Duke-NUS offers a graduate entry, 4-year medical training program based on the unique Duke model of education, with one year dedicated to independent study and research projects of a basic science or clinical nature. The first batch of students will graduate in 2011. Duke-NUS also offers M.D/PhD and PhD programs. As a player in Singapore's biomedical community, Duke-NUS has identified five Signature Research Programs: Cancer & Stem Cell Biology, Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disorders, and Health Services and Systems Research. For more information, please visit www.duke-nus.edu.sg.