Iomai's most advanced product candidate is its skin patch for the prevention of travelers' diarrhea. A Phase 2 field study of the vaccine found that the patch significantly cut the risk of moderate to severe travelers' diarrhea by 75 percent compared with a placebo patch. The few vaccinated travelers who were sickened had illnesses that were significantly shorter and milder.

We are targeting an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008 prior to conducting our pivotal Phase 3 study in 2009.

This year, approximately 55 million international travelers will visit countries where bacteria that cause travelers' diarrhea are endemic, particularly Africa, Asia and Latin America, and about 20 million of those travelers will develop travelers' diarrhea. The effects go beyond the acute symptoms of the disease; between 10 and 30 percent of those who develop travelers' diarrhea will develop the chronic symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Because of the extent of the problem and the lack of safe and effective prophylaxis, a recently completed market study suggested that there is a large market for an effective travelers' diarrhea vaccine, potentially exceeding $750 million annually. If approved, the Iomai vaccine would be the first vaccine for travelers' diarrhea available in the United States.