MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and SPEKE, England, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviron
(Nasdaq: AVIR) and Medeva Pharma Limited, a subsidiary of Medeva PLC
(NYSE: MDV) today announced they have extended their collaboration covering
the manufacturing of key components of FluMist(TM), Aviron's investigational
influenza vaccine. The new contract will extend through December 2005, and
Medeva received $1 million upon execution.
Under terms of the new contract agreement, Medeva will receive specified
payments for supplying the vaccine components of FluMist(TM) on a
price-per-dose basis and the company could receive up to $40 million from a
combination of milestone payments, facilities usage fees and other payments
over the course of the agreement. Further, Medeva could receive additional
milestone payments for meeting quantity-based production targets in the later
years of the contract.
Medeva manufactures components of FluMist(TM) at its facility in Speke,
near Liverpool, England. Medeva began manufacturing supplies for FluMist(TM)
clinical trials in 1995. The current collaboration for the commercial
manufacture of FluMist(TM) components began in 1997 with a contract set to run
through December 2001.
"Since 1995, Medeva has successfully produced supplies each year for our
extensive clinical trial program in children, adults and the elderly," said
J. Leighton Read, M.D., Aviron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We look
forward to continuing our productive association during final development and
the planned commercial launch of FluMist(TM)."
"We are pleased that Aviron has chosen to continue with our relationship,
recognizing the extensive expertise in biologicals manufacturing which Medeva
has at its Speke facility," said Bill Bogie, M.D., Medeva Chief Executive.
"Medeva focuses on three areas of value creation: development, manufacturing
and marketing. This specialist customized manufacturing contract is an
example of the potential Medeva can exploit in one of these three areas of
strategic focus."
Headquartered in London, Medeva PLC employs over 2300 people at operations
in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Spain, Belgium and the
Republic of Ireland. The company's portfolio includes products in the central
nervous system, respiratory, vaccines and hospital products areas, and a range
of late stage high-technology development projects including potential
treatments for Hepatitis B, scleroderma and cystic fibrosis. Medeva PLC is
listed in the United Kingdom on the London Stock Exchange and in the United
States on the New York Stock Exchange.
Aviron is a biopharmaceutical company based in Mountain View, CA focused
on prevention of disease. The company's goal is to develop products which
offer cost-effective prevention of a wide range of infections that affect the
general population. The majority of Aviron's products under development are
live vaccines against viral infections. These include intranasal vaccines
under development for respiratory infections and their complications
-- influenza, parainfluenza (PIV-3), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV),
and injectable vaccines to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) and genital herpes
(HSV-2). Aviron and Wyeth Lederle Vaccines, a business unit of American Home
Products, are collaborating on the development and marketing of FluMist(TM),
an investigational intranasal influenza vaccine, worldwide except for
Australia, New Zealand, Korea and certain other South Pacific region
countries. Aviron is also developing, in collaboration with SmithKline
Beecham Biologicals, a subunit vaccine against Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)
infection, a major cause of infectious mononucleosis.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results
may differ materially from those suggested here. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, failure in a
clinical trial, failure to demonstrate stability or failure in the
manufacturing process. Risk factors also include the assessment by the
regulatory agencies that Aviron's future license applications for its
intranasal influenza vaccine are incomplete or inadequate to approve the
product for marketing to one or more target populations. Additional
information concerning factors that could cause such a difference is contained
in Aviron's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998,
and Medeva's 20-F for the same period.
To receive an index and copies of recent press releases, call Aviron's
News-On-Call toll-free fax service, 800-758-5804, extension 114000.
Additional information about the company can be located at
http://www.aviron.com.
SOURCE Aviron
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CONTACT:
media, Karen Gilbert of Aviron, 650-919-6578;
or John Bluth, 415-356-1000, or Louise Leavitt, 212-453-2000,
both of Fleishman-Hillard, for Aviron; or investors, Fred Kurland
of Aviron, 650-919-6666; or Bill Bogie, Chief Executive,
44-0-171-839-3888, or John Ferguson, European Director,
44-0-1372-364000, or Alexandra Hockenhull, Director of Corporate
Communications, 44-0-171-839-3888, all of Medeva; or James
Bradley, or Patrick Handley, 44-0-171-404-5959, both of Brunswick
Public Relations, for Medeva
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