IMUNON’s Chief Science Officer to Present at the 3rd International Vaccines Congress

Highlights advantages of IMUNON’s PlaCCine modality over current commercial vaccines

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Oct. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IMUNON, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMNN), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on harnessing the power of the immune system against cancer and infectious diseases, announces that Khursheed Anwer, Ph.D., IMUNON’s executive vice president and chief science officer, will highlight the Company’s vaccine development work at the 3rd International Vaccines Congress being held in Boston October 23-26.

Dr. Anwer will present “A DNA-based Vaccine Technology Independent of Virus or Device,” at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time on October 23rd. His presentation describes the multiple advantages of the Company’s PlaCCine modality over current commercial vaccine platforms, including more durable antigen expression and T-cell responses versus protein and mRNA vaccines. In addition, preclinical studies show that PlaCCine elicits better antibody response kinetics following a single dose and demonstrates better shelf-life of at least 12 months at 4°C and at least two weeks at 37°C, thus offering superior commercial handling and distribution properties versus mRNA vaccines as well as greater manufacturing flexibility. Compared with viral or other DNA vaccines or protein vaccines, PlaCCine vaccines have advantages in T-cell responses, safety, compliance and manufacturing flexibility. The presentation may be viewed on the Company’s website in the Scientific Presentations section here.

The presentation highlights immunogenicity data and the development status of IMNN-101, the Company’s lead PlaCCine clinical candidate. IMNN-101 is designed to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB1.5 variant in accordance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee’s June 2023 announcement of the framework for updated COVID-19 doses. IMUNON is targeting the first quarter of 2024 for submitting an Investigational New Drug application to the FDA and enrolling the first subject in a Phase 1 trial in April 2024, with rapid advancement into a Phase 2 trial by mid-2024. The presentation also describes the versatility of the PlaCCine modality, demonstrating the activity against Marburg and influenza viruses in collaboration with the Wistar Institute, and activity against Lassa virus being evaluated at the NIH/NIAID.

“We are delighted to share our ongoing work at this important conference,” said Dr. Corinne Le Goff, president and chief executive officer of IMUNON. “We also are very excited to be moving closer toward investigating IMNN-101 in humans and gathering proof-of-concept data that we will share with potential industry partners.”

IMUNON is a fully integrated, clinical stage biotechnology company focused on advancing a portfolio of innovative treatments that harness the body’s natural mechanisms to generate safe, effective and durable responses across a broad array of human diseases, constituting a differentiating approach from conventional therapies. IMUNON is developing its non-viral DNA technology across four modalities. The first modality, TheraPlas™, is developed for the coding of proteins and cytokines in the treatment of solid tumors where an immunological approach is deemed promising. The second modality, PlaCCine™, is developed for the coding of viral antigens that can elicit a strong immunological response. This technology may represent a promising platform for the development of vaccines in infectious diseases. The third modality, FixPlas™, concerns the application of our DNA technology to produce universal cancer vaccines also called tumor associated antigen cancer vaccines. Finally, the fourth modality, which is still in the discovery phase, IndiPlas™, will focus on the development of personalized cancer vaccines, or neoepitope cancer vaccines.

The Company’s lead clinical program, IMNN-001, is a DNA-based immunotherapy for the localized treatment of advanced ovarian cancer currently in Phase 2 development. IMNN-001 works by instructing the body to produce safe and durable levels of powerful cancer fighting molecules, such as interleukin-12 and interferon gamma, at the tumor site. Additionally, the Company is conducting IND-enabling preclinical studies for the development of a COVID-19 booster vaccine: IMNN-101. The Company has also initiated preclinical studies to develop a Trp2 tumor associated antigen cancer vaccine in melanoma: IMNN-201. We will continue to leverage these modalities and to advance the technological frontier of plasmid DNA to better serve patients with difficult-to-treat conditions. For more information on IMUNON, visit www.imunon.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

IMUNON wishes to inform readers that forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, unforeseen changes in the course of research and development activities and in clinical trials; the uncertainties of and difficulties in analyzing interim clinical data; the significant expense, time and risk of failure of conducting clinical trials; the need for IMUNON to evaluate its future development plans; possible acquisitions or licenses of other technologies, assets or businesses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors or regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in IMUNON’s periodic reports and prospectuses filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. IMUNON assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.

Chief Science Officer