TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE American: OGEN) (“Oragenics” or the “Company”), a biotech company dedicated to fighting infectious diseases including coronavirus, today announced that Kimberly Murphy, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, will attend the upcoming World Vaccine Congress Washington that will be held on April 18-22 to showcase the Company’s lead product, NT-CoV2-1, an intranasal vaccine candidate, and to pursue business development opportunities.
The NT-CoV2-1 intranasal vaccine program approach is focused on patient-friendly administration, reducing transmission through a mucosal immune response, and to provide long-lasting protection. As a recombinant protein and adjunctive vaccine, NT-CoV2-1 is differentiated compared to live-attenuated intranasal vaccines candidates that may cause greater side effects and harder to produce. Animal models have demonstrated NT-CoV2-1 intranasal formulation induced robust immune responses, lowering the viral load below detection of the assay in the nasal passages and the lungs. Currently, an IND-enabling GLP toxicology study is ongoing. The Company expects to initiate a first-in-human Phase 1 trial in previously vaccinated healthy adults this year.
Ms. Murphy joined Oragenic’s Board of Directors in 2020 and actively provides vital insight to the Company’s strategic corporate and development objectives. Formerly, she served in a variety of vaccine-related leadership roles within GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK). While with GSK, Ms. Murphy led the global influenza vaccine and pandemic preparedness businesses and was responsible for the strategic and prelaunch planning for multiple development-stage vaccines through commercialization. Earlier in her career, she worked in commercialization roles within Merck and Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Inc. Ms. Murphy currently serves as a director of Blue Water Vaccines, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWV) and as a director (chairperson) of Clarus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRXT).
Please contact kmurphy@oragenics.com if you are interested in meeting with Ms. Murphy at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington D.C.
About Oragenics, Inc.
Oragenics, Inc. is a development-stage company dedicated to fighting infectious diseases including coronaviruses and multidrug-resistant organisms. Its lead product is NT-CoV2-1, an intranasal vaccine candidate to prevent COVID-19 and variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The NT-CoV2-1 program leverages coronavirus spike protein research licensed from the NIH and the NRC with a focus on reducing viral transmission and offering a more patient-friendly intranasal administration. Its lantibiotics program features a novel class of antibiotics against bacteria that have developed resistance to commercial antibiotics. For more information about Oragenics, please visit www.oragenics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and information currently available. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project" and similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. Investors should be cautious in relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: the Company’s ability to advance the development of its vaccine candidate and lantibiotics candidate under the timelines and in accord with the milestones it projects; the Company’s ability to obtain funding, non-dilutive or otherwise, for the development of the vaccine and lantibiotic product candidates, whether through its own cash on hand, or another alternative source; the regulatory application process, research and development stages, and future clinical data and analysis relating to vaccines and lantibiotics, including any meetings, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA and investigational review boards, whether favorable or unfavorable; the potential application of our vaccine candidate to variants and other coronaviruses; the Company’s ability to obtain, maintain and enforce necessary patent and other intellectual property protection; the nature of competition and development relating to COVID-19 immunization and therapeutic treatments and demand for vaccines and antibiotics; the Company’s expectations as to administration, manufacturing, storage and distribution; other potential adverse impacts due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, such as delays in regulatory review, interruptions to manufacturers and supply chains, adverse impacts on healthcare systems and disruption of the global economy; and general economic and market conditions and risks, as well as other uncertainties described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information set forth in this press release is as of the date hereof. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included in this press release and not place undue reliance on such statements. We do not assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by law.
