Immuno Cure BioTech (“Immuno Cure”), a clinical-stage biotechnology
group based in Hong Kong Science Park, is pleased to announce its upcoming collaboration with
PharmaJet® to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of HIV therapeutic DNA vaccine, ICVAX,
delivered via PharmaJet’s innovative Tropis® needle-free injection system in a clinical study. On June
16, 2025, Immuno Cure and PharmaJet held a material transfer agreement (“MTA”) signing ceremony
at the BIO 2025 International Convention in Boston, USA to commemorate such collaboration.
HIV/AIDS remains a critical global health challenge today, despite advances in treatment and
prevention. As of 2023, over 39 million people were living with HIV, and more than 40 million deaths
have occurred since the start of the epidemic in 1981. Current antiretroviral therapy (“ART”) is highly
effective in suppressing the virus in HIV-1 infected individuals, but it does not provide a cure. This
underscores the necessity for an effective immunotherapy that can enhance the host immune response
to establish a state of ART-free virological control, or a functional cure.
ICVAX employs Immuno Cure’s patented PD-1-Enhanced DNA Vaccine technology, which aims to
achieve sustained, immune-mediated HIV-1 virological control without the need of ART. Following the
successful first-in-human ICVAX Phase I clinical trial that showed exceptional safety and
immunogenicity profiles, this new clinical study will explore the use of the WHO prequalified PharmaJet
Tropis device for the administration of ICVAX, which allows precise intradermal delivery through its
advanced needle-free technology. Tropis’ global regulatory clearances and manufacturing scale reduce
development risk and may improve the DNA vaccine performance and patient’s clinical experience.