Collaborators from Maxygen, Inc. Present Abstracts at Prominent HIV Vaccine
Meeting
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Monogram Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGRM) today announced that company
researchers have co-authored with collaborators from Maxygen, Inc. and
Aldevron LLC several important abstracts presented during the Keystone HIV
Vaccines: Progress and Prospects Symposium in Banff, Alberta.
Maxygen, based in Redwood City, CA, is using Monogram's Neutralizing
Antibody Assay in its HIV vaccine program to rapidly and accurately screen
candidate immunogens produced by gene shuffling for their ability to induce
antibodies that protect against a broad range of HIV variants. The Maxygen
HIV vaccine approach is being funded in part by grants from the National
Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
"The research presented at the Keystone Symposium underscores the value
that Monogram's advanced HIV assays bring to not only clinical practice and
the development of new classes of HIV therapeutics, but to promising
vaccine programs as well," said Chris Petropoulos, PhD, Monogram's Chief
Scientific Officer and Vice President of Research and Development,
Virology. "Maxygen has made great strides in developing vaccines against
incredibly challenging viruses. Their sophisticated development process and
use of advanced screening technologies, including the Monogram assay, have
led to the development of HIV vaccine candidates that elicit more promising
antibody responses than any other program we've seen."
Maxygen-Monogram co-authored abstracts presented at the meeting in
Banff included an oral presentation by Dr. X. Sean Du of Maxygen, "Directed
Molecular Evolution Created Genetic and Antigenic Diversity and Improved
Overall Immunogenicity of HIV-1 gp12- Immunogen," which detailed Maxygen's
program to recombine and manipulate viral envelope DNA in order to produce
vaccines which can neutralize a broad number of HIV variants. Other
abstracts, presented during poster sessions, included:
-- Comparison of Trimeric Motifs for Their Effects on Trimer Formation,
Antigenicity and Immunogenicity of a Non-cleavable JRCSF HIV-1 gp140
Immunogen;
-- ParallelaVax(TM) Technology for High-Throughput HIV-1 Vaccine
Screening; and
-- Broad Survey of the Immunogenicity of HIV-1 Envelope Proteins.
"Our approach to developing a successful HIV vaccine is grounded in our
ability to thoroughly and rapidly examine how well our immunogenetic
candidates produce virus-neutralizing antibodies in animal models," said
Maxygen Director of Infectious Diseases, Robert Whalen, D.Sc. "Our
partnership with Monogram has been critical to our program's speed,
productivity and progress towards a viable HIV vaccine."
About Maxygen
Maxygen is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing improved
versions of protein drugs. The company's lead program, MAXY-G34, is
designed to be an improved version of long-acting G-CSF for the treatment
of neutropenia. MAXY-G34 is currently in Phase II clinical trials. Also in
Maxygen's pipeline are a new Factor VIIa product candidate for the
treatment of hemophilia and new CTLA4-Ig product candidates for the
treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Maxygen uses its proprietary DNA
shuffling technology and extensive protein modification expertise to pursue
the creation of biosuperior proteins. http://www.maxygen.com
About Monogram
Monogram is advancing individualized medicine by discovering,
developing and marketing innovative products to guide and improve treatment
of serious infectious diseases and cancer. The Company's products are
designed to help doctors optimize treatment regimens for their patients
that lead to better outcomes and reduced costs. The Company's technology is
also being used by numerous biopharmaceutical companies to develop new and
improved anti-viral therapeutics and vaccines as well as targeted cancer
therapeutics. More information about the Company and its technology can be
found on its web site at http://www.monogrambio.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These
forward-looking statements include references to the use, demand and
effectiveness of our neutralization assay technology , the size and timing
of clinical trials utilizing our products, the number of patients each year
in the U.S. who potentially could be candidates for new classes of HIV
drugs and or vaccines , expected protection provided by patents, possible
regulation of our neutralization assay and our other products by the FDA,
and activities expected to occur in connection with the Pfizer
collaboration. These forward- looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results to differ
materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in
such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to: risks and uncertainties relating to the performance of
our products; the growth in revenues; the size, timing and success or
failure of any clinical trials our ability to successfully conduct clinical
studies and the results obtained from those studies; our ability to
establish reliable, high-volume operations at commercially reasonable
costs; expected reliance on a few customers for the majority of our
revenues; the annual renewal of certain customer agreements; actual market
acceptance of our products and adoption of our technological approach and
products by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; our estimate of the
size of our markets; our estimates of the levels of demand for our
products; the impact of competition; the timing and ultimate size of
pharmaceutical company clinical trials; whether payers will authorize
reimbursement for our products and services and the amount of such
reimbursement that may be allowed; whether the FDA or any other agency will
decide to further regulate our products or services, including CLIA/ Cap
and the "Research Use Only" offering of our neutralization assay; whether
the draft guidance on Multivariate Index Assays issued by FDA will be
subsequently determined to apply to our current or planned products;
whether we will encounter problems or delays in automating our processes;
the ultimate validity and enforceability of our patent applications and
patents; the possible infringement of the intellectual property of others;
whether licenses to third party technology will be available; whether we
are able to build brand loyalty and expand revenues; restrictions on the
conduct of our business imposed by the Pfizer, Merrill Lynch and other debt
agreements; the impact of additional dilution if our convertible debt is
converted to equity; and whether we will be able to raise sufficient
capital in the future, if required. For a discussion of other factors that
may cause actual events to differ from those projected, please refer to our
most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
as well as other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation,
to revise any forward-looking statements
to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or
circumstances after the date of such statements.
contacts: Alfred G. Merriweather Jeremiah Hall
Chief Financial Officer Feinstein Kean Healthcare
Tel: 650 624 4576 Tel: 415 677 2700
amerriweather@monogrambio.com jeremiah.hall@fkhealth.com
SOURCE Monogram Biosciences, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.monogrambio.com
http://www.maxygen.com
CONTACT:
Alfred G. Merriweather, Chief Financial
Officer of Monogram Biosciences, Inc., +1-650-624-4576; Jeremiah
Hall of Feinstein Kean Healthcare, +1-415-677-2700,
jeremiah.hall@fkhealth.com
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