The Pexa - Vec virus was originally
developed by Michael Mastrangelo, MD, and Edmund Lattime, PhD, of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, who engineered the harmless
vaccinia virus to infect only cancer cells and other rapidly dividing cells, as well as to stimulate immune activity, in hopes of boosting the immune response to tumors.
MHRP scientists, working with NIAID, have
developed an attenuated viral vector — modified
vaccinia Ankara — vaccine candidate, MVA - CMDR (HIV - 1 CM235 env / CM240 gag - pol).