PLANTATION, Fla., June 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viragen, Inc.
(Amex: "VRA"; "VRA.U"; "VRA.WS") today announced the Company has halted its
development of the OVA(TM) System, its avian transgenic technology being
developed for the manufacture of therapeutic proteins.
In halting all further development of the OVA(TM) System, Viragen has
notified Roslin Institute and Oxford BioMedica plc of its intent to
terminate its research and license agreements, respectively.
"We have been forced to make a very difficult decision at this time to
halt our avian transgenics project. While we have accomplished some truly
excellent science, including more 'firsts' than any other group in this
field, the distance between research and commercialization is simply too
great, and our resources are better focused on advancing our anti-cancer
therapeutics," commented Viragen's President and CEO, Charles A. Rice.
"We would like to thank the staffs at Roslin Institute and Oxford
BioMedica for their work and dedication to this project. We will continue
to maintain Viragen's intellectual property portfolio associated with the
OVA(TM) System in the event that any interested party may want to consider
licensing," added Mr. Rice.
In light of the cessation of activities relating to avian transgenics,
Viragen intends to focus its resources on the marketing and regulatory
activities related to Multiferon(R) and pre-clinical studies planned for
two of Viragen's anti-cancer product candidates: VG102, a monoclonal
antibody that has the potential to target nearly all solid tumors; and
VG106, an in-house developed cytokine that has been shown, in preliminary
studies, to prevent proliferation of several difficult-to-treat cancers.
About Viragen, Inc.:
With international operations in the U.S., Scotland and Sweden, we are
a bio-pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development,
manufacture and commercialization of therapeutic proteins for the treatment
of cancers and viral diseases. Our product portfolio includes:
Multiferon(R) (multi- subtype, human alpha interferon) which is uniquely
positioned in valuable niche indications, such as high-risk malignant
melanoma, and other select cancers and infectious diseases; VG102, a novel
monoclonal antibody that binds selectively to an antigen that is
significantly over-expressed on nearly all malignant tumors; and VG106, a
novel cytokine targeting difficult-to-treat cancers.
For more information, please visit: http://www.Viragen.com
Viragen, Inc. Corporate Contact:
Douglas Calder, Director of Communications
Phone: (954) 233-8746; Fax: (954) 233-1414
E-mail: dcalder@viragen.com
The foregoing press announcement contains forward-looking statements
that can be identified by such terminology such as "believes," "expects,"
"potential," "plans," "suggests," "may," "should," "could," "intends," or
similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual
results to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular,
management's expectations regarding future research, development and/or
commercial results could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties
relating to clinical trials and product development; availability of future
financing; unexpected regulatory delays or government regulation generally;
the success of third- party marketing efforts; our ability to retain
third-party distributors; our ability to obtain or maintain patent and
other proprietary intellectual property protection; and competition in
general. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are
made. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements
to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the
forward-looking statements are made.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010426/HSTH018LOGO-b )
SOURCE Viragen, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.viragen.com
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CONTACT:
Douglas Calder, Director of Communications,
Viragen, Inc., +1-954-33-8746, or fax +1-954-233-1414, or
dcalder@viragen.com
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