FIT Biotech Oy ("Company") has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent titled "Methods of treating HIV diseases using novel expression vectors". The patent grants the Company exclusive rights to exploit its GTU®-based DNA vaccines, including FIT-06, for the treatment of HIV patients.

Over 37 million people suffer from HIV worldwide and approximately 2 million new infections occur every year. This poses an enormous economic burden particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where almost half of HIV-infected patients lack access to adequate and ongoing treatment. The Company's clinical stage candidate FIT-06 aims to address the problems of standard therapies including restricted access to medication, low patient retention in therapy, social stigma and potentially serious side effects. The FIT-06 vaccine has the potential to provide a safer and more cost-effective alternative to current HIV therapies.

"Having patent protection for FIT-06 is of utmost importance since it provides FIT exclusive rights for commercializing the vaccine candidate. The upcoming Phase 2 clinical trial with the European HIV Alliance (EHVA) will be the next step on this journey and we look very much forward to its start," commented Santeri Kiviluoto, Chief Scientific Officer of FIT Biotech Oy.