Benzinga | Apr 13, 2021 08:07AM EDT

Hoth Therapeutics Partner Voltron Therapeutics Highlights Apr. 8 COVID-19 And Pandemic Preparedness Presentation To Multiple US Agencies



NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Voltron Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company presented to Congressional Offices and Agencies, including HHS, NIH, FDA and the DoD on Thursday April 8th. This follows dozens of recent one-on-one briefings with Congressional staffers.



Presentations focused on current challenges being faced by governments due to COVID-19 mutations and why further vaccine development and innovation, especially in vaccine platforms, is vital. This is not just true for COVID-19, but for emerging variants and future pandemic pathogens. Panelists also discussed a potential solution under development that is based on Self-Assembling Vaccine technology developed at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital's Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center and licensed by Voltron. This technology is designed to ensure that the US is ready to protect both citizens and warfighters from existing, emerging and mutating pathogens.

Panelists provided an overview of Emerging Infectious Diseases, while discussing past development of vaccines, including how the current COVID-19 vaccines were developed. Importantly, they highlighted historical and current challenges and limitations of vaccine development as well as new platforms that could minimize prior clinical risk factors.

Presenters included:

* Michael V. Callahan, M.D, MSPH, DTM&H, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital;Former COVID Advisor, ASPR;/HHS, Director, DARPA BioDefense, Special Advisor, OSTP/NSC Presidents Obama and Bush (2003-2012), Clinical Envoy, Nanjing and Wuhan University Hospital

* Mark C. Poznansky, MD, PhD, FRCP, FIDSA, Director Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, MGH Research Scholar, Attending Physician Infectious Diseases Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital/Associate Professor Harvard Medical School

* Patrick M. Reeves, PhD, Instructor in Investigation, Massachusetts General Hospital/Instructor Harvard Medical School

Voltron recently announced positive data from its second set of preclinical animal testing of its HaloVax(tm) Self-Assembling Vaccine (SAV) against COVID-19. This study investigated an updated construct, based on initial testing as well as recent scientific developments, in order to identify the best balance of immune responses for prevention of this pandemic pathogen. HaloVax is being developed in conjunction with Hoth Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ:HOTH).