Investors: Bernie Hertel, Inovio Biomedical, 858-410-3101 Media: Ron Trahan, Ronald Trahan Associates Inc., 508-359-4005, x108 Inovio Biomedical and VGX Pharmaceuticals Sign Me

Inovio Biomedical and VGX Pharmaceuticals

Sign Merger Agreement

Conference call with CEOs of Inovio and VGX

Tuesday, July 8 9am Eastern Time

US dial in: 877-407-9210

International dial in: 201-689-8049

Presentation link: http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=131832

DIEGO, CA and BLUE BELL, PA, July 07, 2008 Inovio Biomedical Corporation

(AMEX:INO), a developer of electroporation-based DNA vaccine delivery

technology, and VGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held DNA vaccine

developer, announced today the signing of a definitive merger agreement, which

provides for the issuance of Inovio Biomedical securities in exchange for all

of the outstanding securities of VGX Pharmaceuticals. Each company s board of

directors has approved the merger agreement and the all-stock transaction it

contemplates. The transaction is subject to completion of the registration of

the Inovio Biomedical securities to be issued with the U.S. Securities and

Exchange Commission (SEC), receipt of approval from both companies

stockholders of the transaction, and other customary closing conditions. The

parties expect to complete the merger in the fourth quarter of 2008, however,

the actual timing of the transaction will depend on a number of factors, some

of which are beyond either company s control. Upon closing, Inovio Biomedical

will change its name to VGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Dhillon, MD, President and CEO of Inovio Biomedical, said: Inovio Biomedical,

in collaboration with our research partners, has successfully demonstrated

safety, tolerability, and immunological and clinical responses from

electroporation-delivered DNA vaccines in humans. While we are pleased with our

accomplishments and opportunities, we also believe the best path to maximizing

value for our stockholders requires us to develop proprietary DNA vaccines. To

that end, merging with VGX Pharmaceuticals immediately adds a broad pipeline of

DNA vaccine candidates and a team of internationally-recognized scientists with

strong DNA vaccine expertise, which we believe will provide the combined

company with the capability to rapidly advance DNA vaccine candidates into the

clinic. We are pleased to join forces with the VGX team led by Dr. J.

Joseph Kim and to become closely associated with Dr. David Weiner, a VGX

co-founder known around the world as a pioneer of DNA vaccines.

are highly confident that the combined company will advance the potential of

developing and delivering new DNA vaccines that could play a significant role

in treating or even preventing diseases. Leadership of both companies could not

forego this medical and market opportunity, said Dr. Dhillon.

Joseph Kim, Ph.D., co-founder,

president and CEO of VGX Pharmaceuticals, said: Significant, growing evidence indicates that electroporation has a

pivotal role to play in enabling the potency of this promising new generation

of vaccines and VGX has already made a strong commitment to this DNA delivery

technology. Inovio has made tremendous strides in validating

electroporation-based DNA vaccine delivery with human data in the last year, and

we believe that Inovio s patents and technology platform, partnerships, and

clinical programs will provide synergy with VGX s vaccine development focus and

asset base. We look forward to the integration process, working cooperatively

with Inovio s management, research and engineering teams, and combining our

intellectual property to aggressively pursue the compelling concept of

harnessing the body s immune system to tackle cancers and poorly treated

infectious diseases.

Combined Company Profile

parties believe that the following assets of the combined company will enable

it to advance its integrated DNA vaccine technologies and generate value for

its various stakeholders:

recognized scientific expertise in the field of DNA vaccines complemented by

extensive experience with electroporation technology as a method of DNA

diverse, proprietary pipeline of therapeutic and preventive DNA vaccine candidates

against cancers and infectious diseases, with one wholly owned agent (for HIV)

and one partly owned agent (for hepatitis C virus) in phase I clinical studies,

investigational new drug (IND) applications that are open for one agent (for

cervical cancer) and under review for avian influenza, and

R&D activities in areas such as universal influenza vaccines and prostate

technology, used to generate new clinical product candidates, including consensus sequences and antigens for some of the currently

targeted disease proteins, offering coverage across different viral sub-types

and taxonomic groups. These antigens are further optimized for gene expression

and induction of a desired immune response.

extensive patent portfolio and line of clinical grade devices and prototypes

for electroporation-based DNA delivery, a non-viral delivery platform that,

based on interim clinical data, is indicating safety, tolerability, and

positive immunological and clinical responses from DNA vaccines delivered using

clinical data from multiple studies assessing DNA vaccines or DNA-based

immunotherapies delivered using the company s proprietary electroporation

technology (ISO 13485-compliant), which have collectively indicated safety and

tolerability, heightened levels of antibody and T-cell immune responses, and

durable local and systemic tumor responses (melanoma), providing initial

validation of electroporation s ability to enhance DNA vaccine potency.

approval to use electroporation delivery technology in conjunction with DNA

vaccines in clinical trials in the US (FDA), Sweden, Italy, and the UK.

product line of DNA delivery systems with different design characteristics:

CELLECTRA Adaptive Constant Current Electroporation

MedPulser DNA Delivery System

Elgen DNA Delivery System

and collaborations with various pharmaceutical, biotech, academic, government

and non-government organizations include Merck (cancers), Wyeth (infectious

diseases), HIV Vaccine Trial Network (HIV), Vical

(metastatic melanoma), Moffitt Cancer Center (malignant melanoma), University

of Southampton (prostate cancer), National Cancer Institute (HIV), and

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (HIV), which have already played a

pivotal role in generating valuable preclinical data and proof-of-principle in

humans regarding the utility of electroporation-based delivery of DNA vaccines.

The costs of these studies have largely been borne by collaborators. Four phase

I clinical studies are in progress and an IND has been filed for a fifth.

VGX Animal Health, Inc., an 88%-owned

subsidiary developing growth hormone releasing agents and DNA vaccines for

various diseases for cats, dogs, horses, cows and pigs. LifeTide SW 5, a

product of VGX Animal Health, was recently approved by the Australian

Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority as a veterinary gene therapy