NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2006--AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAN) today announced that it has amended its agreement with an affiliate of Paul Royalty Fund II, L.P. (PRF) to accelerate a $40 million milestone payment, which will now be received on March 17, 2006. The payment had previously been due upon the first sale of Rotarix(R) in the European Union, which is expected to occur during the second quarter of 2006. Other financial terms of the PRF agreement were not changed. Remaining milestone payments from PRF to AVANT include between $11 and $9 million upon product launch in the United States, depending on date of launch. AVANT also retains substantial upside in future Rotarix(R) royalty revenues depending on its commercial success. Rotarix(R) is licensed by AVANT to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
