(COMTEX) B: NABI(R) RECEIVES PATENTS ON STAPHYLOCOCCUS EPIDERMIDIS VA
B: NABI(R) RECEIVES PATENTS ON STAPHYLOCOCCUS EPIDERMIDIS VACCINE AND IMMUNE
GLOBULIN
BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct 12, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Nabi
(Nasdaq: NABI) announced that it has been issued two patents (US Pat.
No. 5,866,140 & 5,961,975) containing claims covering both a
Staphylococcus epidermidis vaccine and a hyperimmune globulin made
using the vaccine. S. epidermidis is a ubiquitous species of
Gram-positive bacteria.
Dr. Robert Naso, Sr. Vice President at Nabi, was quoted as saying, "The
issuance of these patents has significantly strengthened our
proprietary position around the staphylococcal vaccines and
immunoglobulin products we currently have in development. It is our
strategy to integrate these antigens into pharmaceutical products aimed
at preventing and treating life-threatening bacterial infections."
Staphylococci cause approximately two-thirds of hospital-acquired
bacteremias, and these infections are a leading cause of hospital
mortality in the United States. Morbidity and mortality caused by S.
epidermidis are especially high in patients requiring prosthetic
medical devices such as catheters and heart valves. As is the case with
Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis has shown increasing resistance
to currently available antibiotics including vancomycin. Nabi has
demonstrated in pre-clinical models, that antibodies to the S.
epidermidis vaccine described in the issued patents are able to provide
significant protection against challenge with clinical isolates of this
bacterium. The first generation staphylococcal vaccine being developed
by Nabi is Nabi-StaphVAX(R), a vaccine for the prevention of S. aureus
infections, which is currently in Phase III clinical development.
Positive interim results from this pivotal trial were reported recently
(Nabi press release dated August 25, 1999). A second-generation vaccine
addressing both S. aureus and S. epidermidis infections is in pre-
clinical development by Nabi.
Nabi, a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company, has a broad product
portfolio and significant R&D capabilities focused on the development
and commercialization of drugs that prevent and treat infectious and
autoimmune diseases. Nabi currently has several clinical trials
underway in these areas and has four marketed pharmaceutical products.
Additional information may be obtained on the Company's web site at
www.nabi.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect
the Company's current expectations regarding future events. While these
statements reflect the Company's best current judgment, they are
subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
significantly from the results projected herein due to a number of
factors, including, but not limited to, the impact on the Company of
current industry supply and demand factors and the supply of and demand
for the Company's individual products; margin pressure on the Company's
non-specific antibody product line; future sales growth prospects for
its pharmaceutical products; the likelihood that any product in the
research pipeline can receive regulatory approval in the U.S. or abroad
or be successfully developed, manufactured and marketed; failure to
receive licensure for the Boca Raton manufacturing facility; and
dependence upon third parties to manufacture product. These factors are
more fully discussed in the Company's most recent Form 10-K filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Nabi
(C) 1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
prnewswire.com
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CONTACT: Tanina Frouge, Director, Investor Relations of Nabi,
561-989-5815
WEB PAGE: nabi.com
GEOGRAPHY: Florida
INDUSTRY CODE: MTC
SUBJECT CODE: LIC
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