BEIJING, June 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (“Sinovac”) announced that Wang Qishan, mayor of Beijing, and other government officials recently visited the Company headquarters and production facilities in Beijing, China.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060626/LNM005 )
Zhu Shanlu, Secretary of Educational Working Committee of Beijing Municipal Party Committee, and Zhao Fengtong, vice-mayor of Beijing accompanied Mayor Wang on his June 17, 2006 visit. Sinovac CEO, Mr. Yin Weidong gave this distinguished party a status report on the Phase I Clinical trial preliminary results of Sinovac’s proprietary pandemic influenza vaccine, Panflu(TM).
Mr. Yin described the entire process of Panflu production, from virus cultivation, harvest, inactivation and purification, to formulation, filling and packaging. He also gave the visitors a tour of Sinovac’s production facilities. During the visit, they discussed the Company’s R&D and production process and the government’s role in fostering growth in the biotech sector.
Mayor Wang noted during his visit, “It is essential that we pay close attention to the prevention and control of infectious diseases. We must establish a disease prevention system for the whole society and an effective emergency response system to insure we are fully prepared when there is an outbreak of disease. To accomplish this, it is necessary for the government to stockpile vaccines. We must also leverage high-tech companies’ central role in addressing national health challenges by supporting their technological innovations and establishing for them a platform of fair competition.
About Panflu(TM)
Sinovac’s Panflu(TM) is an inactivated whole virus vaccine with adjuvant. Four antigen dosages levels were tested in the Phase I clinical trial and all of them induced an immune response in the volunteers. The vaccine with 10ug antigen content demonstrated the best immunogenicity, with a sero-positive rate of 78.3%, which exceeds the criteria for assessment of vaccines established by Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products of the European Union.
About Pandemic Flu
Signs of a possible pandemic flu have emerged in Southeast Asia, as lethal infections in poultry and humans, and infections of the H5N1 influenza virus strain continue to be reported. While there is no confirmed evidence of human-to-human transmission, there have been suspected cases identified in Indonesia in May 2005. It is feared that if the H5N1 influenza virus undergoes either a genetic alteration or recombination with a human influenza virus, a new subtype could emerge which could be both highly contagious and highly lethal in humans. Such a subtype could potentially cause a global influenza pandemic.
Most health officials estimate a flu pandemic could last a year or more, and millions of lives could be at risk. It is believed that one of the most effective countermeasures against pandemic flu is to manufacture mass quantities of vaccines as quickly as possible.
About Sinovac
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. is a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, focused on research, development and commercialization of vaccines designed to combat human infectious diseases. Sinovac’s vaccines include Healive(TM) (hepatitis A), Bilive(TM) (hepatitis B) and Anflu(TM) (influenza). Sinovac has vaccines in clinical trials to combat avian influenza (bird flu) and SARS.
Additional information about Sinovac is available on the Company website, http://www.sinovac.com and the Sinovac Investor Relations website, http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sinovac_Biotech_IR/
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Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this press release contain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Sinovac’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward- looking statement. Sinovac does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
CONTACT: Craig H. Bird Segue Investor Relations Phone: (215) 885 - 4981 Fax: (215) 885 - 4982 Email: Sinovac@segue.biz
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CONTACT: Craig H. Bird, Segue Investor Relations, +1-215-885-4981, Fax:+1-215-885-4982, Sinovac@segue.biz
Web site: http://www.sinovac.com/
