On November 17, 2014 Inovio Pharmaceuticals reported that the company and Roche have terminated their 2013 collaboration, option, and license agreement to co-develop INO-5150, Inovio’s DNA immunotherapy targeting prostate cancer, as well as their research collaboration in prostate cancer (Press release Inovio, NOV 17, 2014, View Source [SID:1234500973]). All of Roche’s rights to INO-5150, including the right to license the product to other parties, will be returned to Inovio. Inovio plans to independently advance INO-5150 into a phase I clinical trial in the first half of 2015.

Inovio and Roche will continue to collaborate and co-develop Inovio’s DNA immunotherapy (INO-1800) against hepatitis B virus under their existing license agreement. The partnership is on track to move INO-1800 collaboratively into a phase I study in 2015.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio’s president & CEO, said, “The Inovio/Roche partnership will continue to thrive focusing on the development of INO-1800 for the treatment of hepatitis B. In addition to recently demonstrating clinical efficacy and the ability to induce potent antigen specific CD8+ T cell responses in our VGX-3100 phase II study, Inovio will be moving a broad portfolio of immuno-oncology products through development, including INO-3112 (head/neck and cervical cancers), INO-1400 (breast, lung and pancreatic cancers) and INO-5150 (prostate cancer). We believe that these products along with pre-phase III VGX-3100 will further our growth and represent opportunities for additional value-adding partnerships.”