-Data Presented at XVII International AIDS Conference-

MONTREAL and DURHAM, N.C.–(EMWNews)–Argos Therapeutics and Université de Montréal

today announced the presentation of new information on Argos’

process for developing dendritic cell-based immunotherapies for HIV.

Results from the study demonstrate that loading monocyte-derived

dendritic cells with combinations of HIV antigen RNA stimulates the

expansion of HIV-specific T cells, which attack and kill HIV-infected

cells. Argos’ immunotherapies are generated by

the Company’s Arcelis™

technology, which is a platform for creating autologous, RNA-loaded

dendritic cell-based therapies perfectly matched to each patient’s

unique virus. These data were presented in an oral poster discussion

August 5, 2008 at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

“A key step in the durable control of HIV

infection requires enhancing the development of memory immune responses

and the stimulation of potent cytotoxic T cells through therapeutic

vaccination,” said Charles Nicolette, Ph.D.,

Chief Scientific Officer of Argos. “Working

with our colleagues at the Université de Montréal,

we have shown that Argos’ approach of

transfecting dendritic cells with autologous, HIV-specific antigens

effectively activates dendritic cells and enhances the HIV-specific T

cell response. We believe that these results support our methods of

developing potent immunotherapies that help patients’

immune systems more effectively fight HIV infection.”

The inability of the immune system to effectively mount a response

against HIV may be caused by a defect in the maturation of T cell

memory. To explore this hypothesis, researchers from Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly’s

laboratory at the Université de Montréal

and Argos tested whether modified dendritic cells, derived from

monocytes of HIV-infected individuals, could correct the defective

maturation of HIV-specific CD8 T-cells responsible for virus

eradication. To potentially improve the magnitude and quality of the

anti-HIV T-cell response, maturing dendritic cells were transfected with

mRNA-encoding autologous HIV sequences combined with mRNA- encoding

immune modulatory molecules. These modified dendritic cells were then

tested for their ability to expand and mature T cell responses in

vitro.

The results of these recent assessments, presented for the first time at

the International AIDS Conference in Mexico, show that this novel

product induces greater proliferation, maturation and differentiation of

HIV-specific CD8 cells in vitro. These properties, especially

expanding memory cells, which are required for long term protection

against pathogens, represent an improvement over other approaches.

“We believe that this improvement may

represent a significant step forward and is worthy of future clinical

development,” said Dr. Sékaly,

professor of immunology at the Université de

Montréal. “The

fact that we can stimulate a specific, long-term immune response gives

us great hope that, with additional development, we will be able to give

people infected with HIV a new option to battle the virus.”

The abstract, titled, “The co-transfection

of monocyte derived dendritic cells (DC) by different combinations of

HIV antigen RNA and molecular adjuvant RNA enhanced the response of

HIV-specific CD8+ T cells,” was authored

by Oleg Yegorov, Bader Yassine-Diab, Tom Baumgartner, Harris Carpenter,

Irina Tcherepanova, Don Healey, Charles Nicolette, and Rafick-Pierre Sékaly.

This work was funded in part with Federal funds from the National

Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of

Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No.

N01-AI-60019.

About the Arcelis™ Technology

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 the Arcelis platform is part of

Argos’ broad collaboration with Kirin Pharma

Company, Ltd.

About Argos Therapeutics, Inc.

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

About the Université de Montréal

Deeply rooted in Montreal and dedicated to its international mission,

the Université de Montréal

is one of the top universities in the French-speaking world. Founded in

1878, the Université de Montréal

constitutes today the largest centre of higher education and research in

Québec and the second largest in Canada.

Advancing healthcare is a top priority for the Université

de Montréal whose scientists are

internationally renowned for their practical and clinical

investigations. www.umontreal.ca

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