National Institutes of Health (NIH) Awards Contract to Support Use of iBio, Inc.'s Proprietary Technology for Improved Anthrax Vaccine
NEWARK, Del., Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- iBio, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IBIO) announced today that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a contract to the Company's research and development collaborator, the Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology, for a new generation anthrax vaccine to be developed with the iBioLaunch Platform under a research license from iBio. The first year of funding will be $1.76 million with a total contract amount of up to $9.9 million, depending on the exercise of contract options.
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In October 2012, iBio announced issuance of a U.S. patent covering compositions of matter and methods of producing anthrax vaccines, an expansion of the Company's portfolio of assets relevant to bio-defense and infectious disease product applications. Data previously published in peer-reviewed scientific journals demonstrated the effectiveness of the iBioLaunch platform for development and production of vaccine candidates for both bacterial pathogens, such as plague and anthrax, and viral pathogens such as influenza and human papilloma virus.
"The award of this contract to Fraunhofer is an important expression of confidence in the importance of our iBioLaunch and iBioModulator technologies," said Terence Ryan, iBio's Chief Scientific Officer. "We believe that our portfolio of highly protective anthrax vaccines and monoclonal antibodies, along with this expanded anthrax initiative, will generate significant commercial interest in other novel applications of our technology."
iBio's strategy for development of therapeutic and vaccine product applications of its technology platforms is through commercial collaboration and licensing internationally with corporations and government entities. In September 2012, iBio and GE Healthcare announced the formation of a new global alliance, and the Company's technology is being used for development of a new recombinant yellow fever vaccine under a commercial license and product development collaboration with Fiocruz/Bio-Manguinhos. Phase 1 clinical trials of influenza vaccine candidates produced via the iBioLaunch platform were funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations. iBio previously announced success in the use of its platform for the production of a variety of therapeutic protein candidates including monoclonal antibodies and human blood plasma proteins. The Company is currently seeking additional partners for new vaccine candidates and for biotherapeutic products based on its platform technologies.
About iBio, Inc.
iBio develops and offers product applications of its iBioLaunch and iBioModulator platforms, providing collaborators full support for turn-key implementation of its technology for both proprietary and biosimilar products.
The iBioLaunch platform is a proprietary, transformative technology for development and production of biologics using transient gene expression in unmodified green plants. Advantages over other systems include: success with proteins difficult or impossible to produce with other methods; broadly applicable to biologics, including monoclonal antibodies, other therapeutic proteins and vaccines; enables rapid development and validation of modular, scalable, and optionally robotic, multi-product manufacturing facilities; production time measured in weeks instead of months or more. Additional benefits include a practically unlimited surge capacity for remedial action against bioterrorism and pandemic disease; product entry that is unconstrained by traditional process patents, and significantly lower capital and operating costs for comparable production.
The iBioModulator platform is complementary to the iBioLaunch platform and enables significantly improved vaccine products with higher potency and greater duration of effect. The iBioModulator platform can be used with any recombinant expression technology for vaccine development and production. Further information is available at: www.ibioinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included in this news release related to iBio, Inc. may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as lack of available capital, intellectual property protection issues, competitive factors, technological development, market demand, and the Company's ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to variability in size, scope and duration of projects. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect the Company's financial results can be found in the company's Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts:
Corporate:
Robert Erwin, President
iBio, Inc.
302-355-2335
rerwin@ibioinc.com
Investor:
Douglas Beck, CFO
iBio, Inc.
302-355-9452
ir@ibioinc.com
SOURCE iBio, Inc.