Dynavax Receives $600,000 SBIR Grant for TLR Research

BERKELEY, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 7, 2011) - Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: DVAX) today announced the receipt of a two-year Small Business Innovation Research grant (SBIR) for $600,000. The Award is provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and will be used to fund research to characterize the role of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in preclinical models of skin autoimmune inflammation.

Scientists at Dynavax have shown that PI3K is required for the production of type I interferon (IFN) by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC) in response to TLR7 or TLR9 stimulation (Journal of Experimental Medicine 2008). In subsequent studies, the chronic activation of PDC and the IFN that they produced was shown to play a role in skin autoimmune inflammation (Journal of Experimental Medicine 2010), which makes PI3k an attractive target for skin diseases such as psoriasis, cutaneous lupus, and dermatomyositis.

"This new grant supports preclinical studies focused on this key component of the TLR signaling pathway as a target for the treatment of inflammatory skin disorders. This work could well be complementary to our GSK development partnership focused on TLR inhibitors," commented Robert L. Coffman, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Dynavax.

About Dynavax

Dynavax Technologies Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops novel products to prevent and treat infectious and inflammatory diseases. The Company's lead product candidate is HEPLISAV™, a Phase 3 investigational adult hepatitis B vaccine designed to provide rapid and superior protection with fewer doses than current licensed vaccines. For more information visit www.dynavax.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," including statements related to biological mechanisms and potential usefulness of the Company's inhibitors. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, including whether results of completed studies can be replicated in human studies, difficulties or delays in discovery or development, initiation and completion of preclinical or clinical studies, the results of those studies and the impact of those results on the initiation and completion of subsequent studies and issues arising in the regulatory process; achieving our GSK agreement objectives; our ability to obtain additional financing to support our operations; and other risks detailed in the "Risk Factors" section of our current periodic reports filed with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to revise or update information herein to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available. Information on Dynavax's website at www.dynavax.com is not incorporated by reference in the Company's current periodic reports with the SEC.