Vical, Inc. received a $1.0 million milestone payment from Merck based on Merck's planned initiation of a Phase I trial of an investigational plasmid DNA (pDNA) cancer vaccine. The vaccine is based on Vical's DNA gene delivery technology and encodes human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), which is the subject of a separate license agreement.
   
"The breadth of applications for Vical's gene delivery technology continues to grow, and now encompasses vaccine candidates against infectious diseases and cancer, cancer immunotherapies, and gene-based angiogenesis for cardiovascular diseases," said Vijay B. Samant, Vical's president and chief executive officer. "We are pleased that our long-standing partner Merck is expanding to a second clinical-stage evaluation of our technology in the cancer area."