AVANT to Acquire Technology Portfolio of Universal Preservation Technologies
Wednesday October 23, 8:05 am ET
Technology Lowers Vaccine Manufacturing Costs, Enables Room Temperature Stability for Vaccines and Other Biological Products
NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002-- AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVAN - News) today announced that the company has agreed in principle to acquire the technology and intellectual property portfolio of Universal Preservation Technologies, Inc. (UPT), a privately held company based in San Diego, California, and to license certain patent rights from Elan Drug Delivery Limited (a subsidiary of Elan Corporation plc). Through this transaction, AVANT will gain exclusive rights to UPT's VitriLife® process for use in AVANT's oral vaccines and certain other non-injectable applications. VitriLife is a patented drying method for the industrial-scale preservation of biological solutions and suspensions, such as proteins, enzymes, viruses, bacteria and other cells, for shipping and storage at or above room temperature. AVANT plans to complete its acquisition of the UPT technology, patents and license agreements by year-end. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The planned acquisition of UPT's assets includes only technology and patents; AVANT will not acquire UPT's San Diego facility or employees in this transaction.
"This technology acquisition is a valuable one for AVANT's vaccine programs, as VitriLife has the potential to both significantly reduce vaccine manufacturing costs and improve product stability eliminating the need for refrigeration," said Una Ryan, Ph.D., AVANT President and Chief Executive Officer. "This capability would provide great benefits for vaccine distributors in the United States and elsewhere, as well as for biodefense and food safety/animal health applications. In addition, it offers the possibility for AVANT to directly address market needs worldwide in areas of endemic disease, where affordable oral vaccines for serious bacterial illnesses could provide a real boon."
As part of the acquisition, Elan Drug Delivery Limited (EDD) has agreed to settle a patent interference with UPT. That settlement provides for UPT to assign certain patent rights to EDD and for EDD to license UPT's and other related patents to AVANT. EDD's license to AVANT (for which EDD will receive a one-time license fee) gives AVANT exclusive rights in connection with those patents relating to orally administered vaccines and non-exclusive rights in certain other fields.
"The UPT acquisition will also give AVANT two new partners, who are licensees of the VitriLife technology, and thus leverage our ownership of that new resource outside AVANT's own area of focus," said Dr. Ryan. "The first licensee is Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of Wyeth that is the number one veterinary vaccine manufacturer in the world. The second licensee is Stratagene, a leading developer and marketer of products for life science researchers, who has licensed the technology for use with its competent cell products for cloning and protein expression."
About the VitriLife® process
VitriLife is a patented method for the industrial scale preservation of biological suspensions, such as proteins, enzymes, viruses, bacterial and cells. This method uses a drying technology to encase these biological materials in a glass-like coating that enables their stable storage and transportation at room temperature or potentially higher temperatures. VitriLife is a gentle manufacturing process that is a simpler alternative to conventional freeze-drying (lyophilization) of vaccines or other products, cutting the time and cost of this manufacturing step significantly from conventional methods while increasing final product yields. Additionally, use of the VitriLife process increases the ease of further product processing into fine powders, thus facilitating bulk processing and packaging and enhancing the ability to mix multiple vaccine powders into combination vaccines.
About AVANT Immunotherapeutics
AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc. is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of products that harness the human immune system to prevent and treat disease. The company is developing a broad portfolio of vaccines against viral and bacterial diseases, including single-dose oral vaccines aimed at protecting travelers from cholera, typhoid fever and other illnesses. In addition, the company is conducting clinical studies of a proprietary vaccine candidate for cholesterol management. AVANT further leverages the value of its technology portfolio through corporate partnerships. Current collaborations encompass the development of an oral human rotavirus vaccine, vaccines to combat threats of biological warfare, and vaccines addressed to human food safety and animal health.
Additional information on AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc. can be obtained through our site on the World Wide Web: avantimmune.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release includes forward-looking statements which reflect AVANT's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "project" and similar expressions which do not relate solely to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) the proposed acquisition of UPT and related transactions may not be consummated on the terms currently anticipated or at all; (2) the ability to adapt AVANT's vectoring systems to develop new, safe and effective orally administered vaccines against anthrax and plague or any other microbes used as bioweapons; (3) the ability to successfully complete development and commercialization of Peru-15, Ty800 and of other products; (4) the cost, timing, scope and results of ongoing safety and efficacy trials of Peru-15, Ty800 and other preclinical and clinical testing; (5) the ability to successfully complete product research and further development, including animal, pre-clinical and clinical studies of Peru-15, Ty800 and other products; (6) the ability of the Company to manage multiple late stage clinical trials for a variety of product candidates; (7) the volume and profitability of product sales of Megan®Vac 1 and other future products; (8) changes in existing and potential relationships with corporate collaborators; (9) the cost, delivery and quality of clinical and commercial grade materials supplied by contract manufacturers (10) the timing, cost and uncertainty of obtaining regulatory approvals to use Peru-15 and Ty800, among other purposes, to protect travelers from diarrhea causing diseases and for other products; (11) the ability to obtain substantial additional funding; (12) the ability to develop and commercialize products before competitors; (13) the ability to retain certain members of management; and (14) other factors detailed from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any responsibility to update forward-looking statements.
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Contact:
AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc.
Una S. Ryan, Ph.D., 781/433-0771
or
AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc.
Avery W. Catlin, 781/433-0771
info@avantimmune.com
or
Kureczka/Martin Associates (For Media)
Joan Kureczka, 415/821-2413
jkureczka@aol.com
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Source: AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc. |
