Roche, the leading player in the oncology market, has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to two synthetic DNA vaccines from Inovio Pharmaceuticals and taken a licence to the company’s Celectra® electroporation technology. INO-5150, which targets prostate cancer, and INO-1800, which targets hepatitis B, both have generated robust T-cell responses in animal models and Roche will use the collaboration to pursue combination approaches, particularly with the existing cancer immunotherapy molecules in its development pipeline. The deal is Inovio’s largest to date and provides a major validation of the company’s vaccine technology.