Univec made a constructive and demonstrably upbeat announcement today. The press release is significant not only because indicates the scope of Univec's market (Univec is the main supplier to UNISEF and WHO), but also the reveals the solid commitment these organizations have pledged towards applying Univec's technology towards eradicating the syringe as a vector of disease transmission.
(Bolding, italics are mine)
Thursday September 25 1:12 PM EDT
Company Press Release
World Health Organization Mandate and Turner Organization Funding Point to Dramatic Increase in Auto-Destruct Syringe Market
GARDEN CITY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 1997--
Auto-Destruct Syringes Needed to Curb Hepatitis and HIV Spread Worldwide
UNIVEC (NASDAQ:UNVC) reported today that a joint report of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), dated Aug. 11, 1997, will expand the demand for auto-destruct syringes, since these organizations are now requiring that auto-destruct syringes be used in all of their programs that use hypodermic injections for drug delivery. Furthermore in the same report, UNICEF and WHO stated their desire to more than triple the number of immunization shots provided by them from 1 billion units in the year 1998 to 3.5 billion units in the year 2005.
Separately, the Turner organization announced its intention to donate over $1 billion over ten years to the United Nations, which will enable UNICEF and WHO to buy the supplies of serum and auto-destruct syringes to meet their goals of immunizing more women and children in developing countries.
Auto-destruct syringes are designed to prevent the re-use of contaminated syringes which is the leading cause of the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B. WHO, in conjunction with UNICEF have established a joint policy on the use of auto-destruct syringes for mass immunization. This most recent policy opens the market for auto-destruct syringes to be purchased by non-governmental and international agencies for all medical purposes.
The WHO/UNICEF joint policy -- ``Global Programme on Vaccines'' -- was delivered at the Organization's meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland on Sept. 10, 1997. According to WHO/UNICEF, ``The consequences of re-use are striking. Current estimates put the number of Hepatitis B cases provoked by four re-uses of a syringes at up to 3,740 cases per 100,000 fully immunized children and the number of HIV infections at 81. When these risks are computed against current evidence of the re-use of syringes, the total global morbidity due annually (to re-use) stands at around 10 million cases of Hepatitis B, 1.8 million cases of Hepatitis C and 750,000 cases of HIV.''
In conclusion, the WHO/UNICEF joint policy proposes, ``Where disposable syringes are being used and in addition to the other elements of strategy for safe injections, auto-destruct syringes be the preferred choice for all skin injections.''
Commenting on these developments, Joel Schoenfeld, Chairman and CEO of UNIVEC said, ``These developments enable UNIVEC to be the major participant in the growing market for auto-destruct syringes because of its leadership in promoting the general use of auto-destruct syringes and the superiority of its auto-destruct syringes over other competitors. We have worked closely with the World Health Organization and other agencies to bring about the universal use of auto-destruct syringes. The joint policy proposed by WHO/UNICEF is a major step in that direction and a recognition of the devastating results of the re-use of syringes. We are extremely gratified at the possibility that a portion of the Turner Organization's promised contribution to the UN Relief Agencies might be allocated to providing funding for the purchase of auto-destruct syringes by developing nations. Lack of money on the part of these nations has been a large part of the problem and causes the re-use of disposable syringes.''
Mr. Schoenfeld added, ``UNIVEC has been in the forefront of the movement to create awareness of the need for auto-destruct syringes as well as the development and production of a range of auto-destruct syringes needed to satisfy all applications. We are aggressively tooling up to produce auto-destruct syringes in the sizes and quantities we believe will be required to meet the demand the WHO proposal will create.''
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events. Shareholders are cautioned that such statements are predictions and that actual events or results may differ significantly.
This release is available on the KCSA Public Relations website at www.kcsa.com. |
