SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwire - June 04, 2009) -
Apthera, Inc. today announced that it
entered into a commercial license agreement with Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical
Co., Ltd. for use of Apthera's NeuVax™, a peptide-based cancer
immunotherapy product. Under the terms of the agreement, Kwangdong will
receive a license to sell NeuVax in South Korea for the treatment of
early-stage breast cancer. Apthera will receive milestone payments as well
as a royalty on commercial sales. Kwang Dong has also made an equity
investment in Apthera and will invest in a future round of financing.
"We're pleased to be working with Kwang Dong and believe they will be a
very strong marketing partner for NeuVax in their territory," said Alton C.
Morgan, Ph.D., President and CEO of Apthera.
About Apthera
Apthera, Inc. is a privately held, Arizona-based biotechnology company
developing a pipeline of peptide-based immunotherapies for cancers that
express HER2/neu, a well-validated and established oncology target. The
Company's lead product, NeuVax, contains the E75 peptide which is one of
the rare T-cell peptides that has been documented to elevate or boost
pre-existing anti-cancer immunity in cancer patients. High-level immune
responses in patients administered NeuVax are consistent with recall
responses of T-cells. NeuVax's initial indication is for early-stage breast
cancer patients who don't qualify for trastuzumab (Herceptin®) therapy.
For more information about the Company visit www.apthera.com.
About Kwang Dong
Kwang Dong is one of the major pharmaceutical companies in Korea and is
highly experienced in introducing and developing late-stage drugs for the
Korean market. Kwang Dong's main focus lies in the development of drugs
within oncology and QOL and Kwang Dong expects that NeuVax will reinforce
Kwang Dong's presence in oncology together with its existing products and
pipelines in development. For more information, visit Kwang Dong's website
at www.ekdp.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are
not historical facts and are subject to risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual results and the timing of certain events to differ materially
from those set forth in or implied herein including, without limitation,
risks associated with clinical development, regulatory approvals, product
commercialization, intellectual property claims litigation and other risks
associated with the Company's proposed activities.
