MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviron (Nasdaq: AVIR)
today announced that it has received a $2.7 million Challenge Grant from the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National
Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine to protect against possible pandemic
influenza viruses.
"The next pandemic has the potential to cause enormous casualties and
social disruption. Aviron is pleased to have been selected by the NIAID to use
our existing technology in a way that could help prepare us for the next
pandemic," said C. Boyd Clarke, Aviron president and chief executive officer.
Aviron also will commit $2.7 million over the three year duration of the
grant. Challenge Grants are milestone-driven awards, meaning recipients must
achieve predetermined product goals during the development process.
Under the grant, Aviron will develop vaccine candidates against potential
pandemic strains of influenza. The vaccine candidates will utilize the
intranasal delivery technology currently used for FluMist(TM), Aviron's
investigational intranasal influenza vaccine. In principle, nasal delivery of
influenza vaccines could be particularly useful in quickly vaccinating large
numbers of people, including children, who many consider the primary spreaders
of the flu.
An influenza pandemic can occur when a strain of the influenza virus
changes enough so that humans have no natural immunity to it. Influenza
pandemics have occurred three times during the twentieth century. The
deadliest was the 1918 "Spanish flu" which resulted in more than
20 million deaths worldwide, more than any other event in the twentieth
century except world wars.
In the United States alone, the CDC estimates that the next influenza
pandemic could infect up to 200 million people, cause between 88,000 and
300,000 deaths and result in economic losses of up to $166 billion.
Aviron is a biopharmaceutical company based in Mountain View, California,
focused on the prevention of disease through innovative vaccine technology.
Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements
contained in this release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
include, but are not limited to, failure to validate the manufacturing
process, facilities or equipment for the company's nasal influenza vaccine,
and the assessment by regulatory agencies that the company's future license
applications for its nasal 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 SEC filings, including its S-3 Registration Statement
and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.
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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Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/114000.html or fax,
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CONTACT:
Media, John Bluth, 650-919-3716, or Asha
Jennings, 650-919-1429, both of Aviron; or Camela Stuby of
Fleishman-Hillard, 212-453-2000, for Aviron; or Investors, John
Bluth, 650-919-3716, or Fred Kurland, 650-919-6666, both of
Aviron
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