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Profiles

Vical

Vical was an American biotechnology company based in San Diego, California. Its focus was the research and development of biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies, primarily to combat AIDS, herpes and other diseases.[1]

History

Vical was founded in June 1987 with $1 million in startup funding from Biovest Partners. The company subsequently raised an additional $2.5 million from Morgenthaler Ventures, Hilman Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Security Pacific Capital.[1:1]

Robert Malone submitted a letter of resignation to Wick Goodspeed at Vical on August 1, 1989, effective August 25.[2]

Venrock invested in Vical in 1992.[3]

Vical was a sponsor of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) from May 30-June 1, 2001 in Seattle, Washington.[4]

Organization

Vical has provided notable funding to the Hepatitis B Foundation[5] and the University of Washington.[6]

Team

Name Position Notes
Wick Goodspeed President[1:2] Baxter International, British Oxygen Healthcare
Timothy Wollaeger Chairman[1:3] Biovest Partners
Robert Malone Researcher (resigned)[2:1] Beardsworth Consulting Group

Investors

Investors in Vical include:[1:4]

  • Biovest Partners
  • Hilman Ventures
  • Morgenthaler Ventures
  • Security Pacific Capital
  • Sequoia Capital
  • Sutter Hill Ventures
  • Venrock[3:1]

Patents

  1. San Diego Industry Notes. (1988, September 29). Los Angeles Times, 91. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/405044340/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Deigin, Y. (2022, April 9). Robert Malone’s role in the invention of mRNA vaccines — an analysis. Medium. http://archive.today/2022.10.03-050013/https://yurideigin.medium.com/robert-malones-role-in-the-invention-of-mrna-vaccines-an-analysis-2d37fc3bb9d4 ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Vical. Venrock. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230828171112/https://www.venrock.com/companies/vical-inc/ ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. ASGT Fourth Annual Meeting - Exhibitors and Supporters. American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. Retrieved May 3, 2016, from https://web.archive.org/web/20160503070607/http://www.asgct.org/meeting_archives/am01/listofexhibitors.html ↩︎

  5. Block, T. M., & Rosen, J. 2017 Annual Report. Hepatitis B Foundation. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20230314121143/https://www.hepb.org/assets/Uploads/HepB-2017-Annual-Report-FINAL.pdf ↩︎

  6. Honor Roll of Donors. University of Washington. Retrieved May 26, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220610164520/https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/83/2020/10/29094302/RTC_HonorRoll_2020.pdf ↩︎