(Durham, N.C.) Argos Therapeutics today announced the presentation of two abstracts at the AIDS Vaccine 2009 conference, being held October 19-22 in Paris, France. Favorable immune response, viral load and safety data from the ongoing Phase 2a proof-of-concept trial of AGS-004 therapy for the treatment of HIV will be discussed. AGS-004 is a product of the Company’s Arcelis™ technology, and is a personalized, RNA-loaded dendritic cell-based immunotherapy that is perfectly matched to each patient’s unique HIV viral burden. The target population for the trial is HIV-1-infected patients with durable viral suppression from antiretroviral therapy (ART).

More information on the presentations:

Abstract Title: “Safety and Viral Load Changes in HIV-1 Infected Subjects Treated with Autologous Dendritic Immune Therapy Following ART Discontinuation”
Abstract #: 164340
Presentation Type: Oral presentation
Date/Time: October 21, 2009, 12:00PM
Presenter: Jean-Pierre Routy, M.D., of McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada

Abstract Title: “Immunogenicity of an Autologous Dendritic Cell Anti-HIV Therapy in HIV-1 Infected Individuals”
Abstract #: 173838
Presentation Type: Poster presentation
Date/Time: October 21, 2009, 12:30-2:00PM
Presenter: Bader Yassine-Diab, Ph.D., of University of Montreal Research Center, Montreal, Canada

Arcelis is Argos’ proprietary technology for personalizing RNA-loaded dendritic cell immunotherapies for HIV, other infectious diseases, and cancer. This platform is based on optimizing a patient’s own (autologous) dendritic cells to trigger a pathogen- or tumor-specific immune response. To address the challenge of the unique genetic profile of each patient’s disease and the genetic mutations of that disease, Argos loads the autologous dendritic cells with a sample of messenger RNA (“mRNA”) isolated from their disease. Through this process, dendritic cells can potentially prime immune responses to the entire antigenic repertoire, resulting in an immunotherapeutic that is customized to the patient’s specific disease. The development of Arcelis is part of Argos’ broad collaboration with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd.

Argos is an immunotherapy company developing new treatments for cancer, infectious and autoimmune diseases, and transplantation rejection. The Company has generated multiple platform technologies and a diverse pipeline of products based on its expertise in the biology of dendritic cells — the master switch that turns the immune system on or off. www.argostherapeutics.com