KVISTGARD, Denmark, August 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Bavarian Nordic's US subsidiary, BN ImmunoTherapeutics has entered into a scientific partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States. Under the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) the NCI and Bavarian Nordic will jointly develop new immunotherapies for the treatment of prostate cancer. Under the CRADA, BN ImmunoTherapeutics has rights to exclusively license intellectual property that results from this collaboration.
Bavarian Nordic will in the future explore opportunities for extending this collaboration to further develop its cancer projects. By combining Bavarian Nordic's expertise within cancer vaccine development with one of the world's leading centres of excellence within cancer research, the company is confident that this collaboration will result in new and innovative solutions to a disease area with high unmet medical needs as well as expand and accelerate Bavarian Nordic's cancer activities.
Through the collaboration and a license agreement with the United States Public Health Service, the company has obtained rights to intellectual property rights covering a prostate cancer vaccine product candidate in late phase II clinical development. Data from key clinical studies with this vaccine candidate are currently being evaluated. Later in 2008 the company will inform the market about how this development project will have a future in the pipeline of Bavarian Nordic.
About the NCI
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is the United States federal government's leading cancer research organization.
- The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has played an active role in the development of drugs for cancer treatment for over 50 years. This is reflected in the fact that approximately one half of the chemotherapeutic drugs currently used by oncologists for cancer treatment were discovered and/or developed at NCI. - NCI has supported the research efforts of at least 20 Nobel Prize winners. For approximately half of these Nobel laureates, NCI supported the awarded research. - According to a 1996 NCI analysis of drugs approved by the FDA, two-thirds of the anti-cancer drugs approved as of the end of 1995 were NCI-sponsored Investigational New Drugs.
The collaboration with the NCI does not change Bavarian Nordic's previously announced financial guidance for 2008.
Anders Hedegaard, President & CEO of Bavarian Nordic, commented:
"I am very happy to see that we are consolidating our strong relationships within the US. The NCI relationship opens up for us new and exciting opportunities within the field of cancer and we are proud to join forces with one of the most prestigious and well-established cancer research organisations in the world. In the collaboration with NCI Bavarian Nordic benefits from the enormous expertise in cancer therapeutics development that is present in the NCI organisation. This will truly strengthen cancer as a strategic focus area in years to come, in line with our outlined strategy."
Kvistgård, 13 August 2008
Asger Aamund
Chairman
About Bavarian Nordic
Bavarian Nordic A/S is a leading industrial biotechnology company developing and producing novel vaccines for the treatment and prevention of life-threatening diseases with a large unmet medical need. The company's business strategy is focused in three areas: biodefence, cancer and infectious diseases. Bavarian Nordic's proprietary and patented technology MVA-BN(R) is one of the world's safest, multivalent vaccine vectors. Bavarian Nordic has ongoing contracts with the US government for the late-stage development and procurement of the company's third-generation smallpox vaccine, IMVAMUNE(R).
Bavarian Nordic is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Copenhagen under the symbol BAVA.
For more information please visit http://www.bavarian-nordic.com
Contact: Anders Hedegaard, President & CEO, +45-23-20-30-64
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