TapImmune has signed a research collaboration with Aeras. The overall goal of this collaboration will be to evaluate the efficacy of TAP in concert with novel vaccine vectors encoding TB immunogens under development at Aeras with the aim of advancing suitable candidates to clinical development. Aeras will conduct all pre-clinical development studies at their laboratories in Rockville, MD.

Aeras, a non-profit product development organization, is dedicated to the development of effective TB vaccine regimens that will prevent tuberculosis in all age groups and will be affordable, available and adopted worldwide. Two billion people worldwide are infected with TB - about one out of every three people on the planet. As the current BCG vaccine is only partially effective there is an urgent need for a modern, safe and effective vaccine that would prevent all forms of TB, including the drug-resistant strains, and in all age groups.

TapImmune has extensive experience and associated intellectual property related to the use of TAP1 and TAP2 expressing vectors for the treatment of cancer and for enhancing class I presentation of vaccine immunogens. The company is currently evaluating the use of TAP in a novel smallpox vaccine technology in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Gregory Poland at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Dr. Glynn Wilson, chairman and CEO of TapImmune, stated, "We are proud to team with Aeras in the search for the next generation of vaccines to combat the increasing threat of tuberculosis, and are excited by the potential of our technology to make a contribution to this effort."