ALTACHEM PHARMA ATTRACTS MAJOR GLOBAL PARTNER TO DEVELOP BLOOD DECONTAMINATION TECHNOLOGIES
October 24th 2001
EDMONTON, ALBERTA – Mr. Warren Jackson, President and CEO, is pleased to announce that the company has signed a contract to enter into a joint venture with Erdos Cashmere Group Corporation based in Inner Mongolia, China. The proposed joint venture (JV), subject to all regulatory approvals and Altachem’s ability to fund its share of the registered capital, will be named Beijing Erdos Altachem Pharma Ltd. and will be located in Beijing, China.
“This proposed Joint Venture is being formed in order to expedite the development of Altachem’s blood technologies while at the same time allowing Altachem to focus directly on the development of our two core technologies: HIP for HIV/AIDS and HB for Cancer”, explained Dr. Madi Madiyalakan, Executive Vice President of Drug Development. Altachem is actively exploring all options available to raise its portion of the registered capital required.
The joint venture between Altachem Pharma and Erdos Cashmere Group Corp. will consist of three investment phases of registered capital for drug development:
1) Registered Capital for Pre-Clinical Development:
v Erdos: US$9,422,700.00 and Altachem: US$3,076,800.00.
2) Registered Capital for Clinical Trial Development:
v Erdos: US$7,538,462.00 and Altachem: US$2,461,538.00
3) Registered Capital for Manufacturing and Marketing:
v Erdos: US$7,538,462.00 and Altachem: US$2,461,538.00
Altachem Pharma will control 51% and Erdos Cashmere Group will control 49% of the proposed Joint Venture.
The drug platform for the proposed Joint Venture will include Altachem Pharma’s technologies for treatment of blood and blood products to eliminate such pathogens as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.
The focus of the proposed Joint Venture will be to complete the necessary pre-clinical work, conduct human clinical trials and, if successful, manufacture, market and distribute for the global market. Altachem Pharma and the Erdos Group have already assembled experts in this field from China, Europe and North America to advise the Joint Venture company for the development of these blood products.
Mr. Jackson said, “We are very happy to attract such an elite partner. Erdos Group has the vision to diversify, the expertise for global distribution, the financial strength to do so and recognizes the global need to improve the safety of blood and blood products.”
Erdos Cashmere Group Corporation has approximately US$560 million in assets; sales revenue for 2000 of approximately US$260 million from their marketing network of over 900 integrated sales branches throughout China. In addition, Erdos Group has international sales offices in over 30 other countries including the United States of America, Japan, Russia, Canada, South Africa, the European Union, and a number of Asian countries. The Erdos Group employs approximately 18,000 people worldwide and has won many local and international awards. For example, for the last three consecutive years Erdos Group has been awarded “The Five Star Prize” for Best Merchandise Suppliers by Macy’s, a leading retailer in the United States.
Altachem Pharma Ltd. is a publicly traded (CDNX:AAF), Alberta-based pharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new pharmaceutical products to enrich and prolong the lives of people. The Company is developing a multi-tiered, integrated approach for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and Cancer. The lead products of the company are based on its two proprietary drugs: HIP and HB. The Company’s manufacturing facility is certified compliant with internationally recognized quality systems standards, ISO 9002:1994, ISO 13488 and EN 46002.
For additional information, contact:
Roger Andrews, Investor Relations
Altachem Pharma Ltd.
Tel.: (780) 486-8331(Ext. 331)
Toll-free: (877) 502-5939
Fax : (780) 448-1436
E-mail: roger@altachempharma.com
Web site: www.altachempharma.com |
