TapImmune Inc. and Aeras Start Research & Development Collaboration

R&D Collaboration Will Evaluate the Efficacy of TAP-Containing TB Vaccines at Aeras Facility in Rockville, MD
SEATTLE, Oct. 31, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TapImmune Inc. (OTCBB:TPIV) announced that it has signed a Research Collaboration with Aeras. The overall goal of this collaboration will be to evaluate the efficacy of TAP in concert with novel vaccine vectors encoding TB immunogens under development at Aeras with the aim of advancing suitable candidates to clinical development. Aeras will conduct all pre-clinical development studies at their laboratories in Rockville, MD.

Aeras, a non-profit product development organization, is dedicated to the development of effective TB vaccine regimens that will prevent tuberculosis in all age groups and will be affordable, available and adopted worldwide. Two billion people worldwide are infected with TB - about one out of every three people on the planet. As the current BCG vaccine is only partially effective there is an urgent need for a modern, safe and effective vaccine that would prevent all forms of TB, including the drug-resistant strains, and in all age groups.

TapImmune has extensive experience and associated intellectual property related to the use of TAP1 and TAP2 expressing vectors for the treatment of cancer and for enhancing Class I presentation of vaccine immunogens. The Company is currently evaluating the use of TAP in a novel smallpox vaccine technology in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr Gregory Poland at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Dr Glynn Wilson, Chairman and CEO of TapImmune, stated, "We are proud to team with Aeras in the search for the next generation of vaccines to combat the increasing threat of tuberculosis,  and are excited by the potential of our technology to make a contribution to this effort."

About Aeras

Aeras (www.aeras.org) is a non-profit product development organization working to develop new tuberculosis vaccines and ensure that they are distributed to all who need them around the world. Aeras is funded primarily by private foundations and government aid agencies. Aeras is based in Rockville, Maryland.

About TapImmune

TapImmune's unique approach is designed to increase the efficacy of vaccines by enhancing antigen presentation through the use of the Transporter of Antigen Processing ('TAP'). Replacement of this transporter provides a significant immune response with the potential to treat a variety of cancers which lack normal amounts of TAP.

TapImmune's lead product candidate, AdhTAP, is designed to restore and augment antigen presentation and subsequent recognition and killing of cancer cells by the immune system. As a stand-alone cancer therapy or in combination with other drugs, AdhTAP could prove to be a key component of a more successful assault on cancer. TapImmune is entering clinical co-development of a multi-component vaccine for the treatment of HER-2/neu positive breast cancer.

The Company is also developing a TAP-based prophylactic vaccine which initial tests indicate may increase the efficacy of targeted prophylactic vaccines by up to 1000 times. TapImmune's TAP technology could significantly improve the efficacy of many current prophylactic vaccines and enhance the creation of new ones in the fight against many pandemic infectious diseases. Next generation smallpox and TB vaccines are currently in preclinical development.

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