London, ON. - An HIV/AIDS vaccine developed by
Dr. Yong Kang, a virology professor at the
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The
University of Western Ontario is being readied for
clinical trial. Kang’s vaccine could be available
for therapeutic use within three years and for use
as a preventive vaccine within the next six years.
Korean-based Curocom Co. Ltd. today
announced the opening of Curocom Canada at
Western’s Research Park in London, Ontario. Its
close proximity to Kang’s laboratory at Western will
significantly accelerate the commercialization
process of the HIV vaccine program. Curocom is
currently outsourcing the manufacturing of the HIV
vaccine to Advanced BioScience Laboratories, a
cGMP (good manufacturing practice) facility in the
U.S., to prepare the vaccine for human clinical
trials. This now clears the way for Kang to seek
FDA approval for clinical trials. He is confident it
will be granted.
The vaccine has proven to stimulate protective
immune responses in animals, and holds
tremendous promise. It is based on the production
of virus-like particles known as pseudovirions to
produce protective immune responses.
“Dr. Kang has been issued one of only a few
HIV vaccine patents in the world and has
developed one of a handful of technologies to
make it this far in a process where dozens of other
potential vaccines from much larger institutions
have failed,” says Ted Hewitt, Vice-President,
Research and International Relations, The
University of Western Ontario. Western and Dr.
Kang currently hold issued patents for the vaccine,
in both the U.S. and for ARIPO - the African
Regional Intellectual Property Organization.
World-wide patent protection is pending.
“We are very happy to work together with
Professor Kang and do our best to support his
research and development,” says Dr. Dong Joon
Kim, President and CEO of Curocom Co., Ltd.
Curocom Co. Ltd. has multiple subsidiaries
focusing on Information Technology,
Biotechnology, and Venture Capital investments.
This is the first Canadian subsidiary for Curocom
Co. Ltd.
HIV has killed more than 25 million people
worldwide since the virus was first discovered in
1981. “This vaccine has the potential of saving
millions of lives,” says Kang who has been working
on the vaccine for two decades.
Curocom Canada has also initiated a program
to develop a Hepatitis C vaccine based on Kang’s
research.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kathy Wallis, Media Relations Officer, Schulich
School of Medicine & Dentistry, 519-661-2111 ext.
81136, blackberry 519-777-1573,
kathy.wallis@schulich.uwo.ca