IRVING, Texas, March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A week before presenting details of its ground-breaking avian flu vaccine at the World Vaccine Conference in Washington, DC, shares of pharmaceutical company Carrington Laboratories, Inc. traded at a 52-week high of $7.45 on Wednesday. Carrington closed yesterday at $6.54.
With U.S. and world health experts now suggesting that the possibility of an avian flu pandemic in the near future is very real, Carrington’s unique GelVac(R) system, developed by Carrington’s subsidiary, DelSite Biotechnologies, could make it possible to get more vaccines to more people, faster and more efficiently, than any other existing or imagined vaccine delivery system.
DelSite’s GelVac(R) avian flu vaccine is uniquely suited to meeting the challenges of a pandemic:
* Stable at room temperature, the vaccine requires no refrigeration for shipping or prolonged storage -- facilitating both stock-piling and rapid distribution. * The proprietary production process is the only one currently able to create a nasal avian flu vaccine using killed whole virus -- creating a more powerful vaccine that is also likelier to protect against more possible mutations of the virus. * The water-soluble powder is easy and painless when given nasally -- and can be self-administered, if necessitated by an overwhelmed health care system. * It gels on contact with nasal membranes, where it remains active for prolonged periods of up to six hours -- potentially reducing the amount of vaccine required and enabling limited vaccine supplies to protect more people.
Nasal administered vaccines immediately form a first-line of immune defense for the respiratory system -- a common entry point for influenza virus -- as well as prompting the body’s usual immune response.
On March 1, DelSite announced an agreement with Invitrogen Corporation to develop a manufacturing process capable of producing sufficient avian flu vaccine for human clinical trials, which the company currently expects to begin in late 2006 or 2007.
Kenneth Yates, D.V.M., president of DelSite, will present results to date at the World Vaccine Congress on the afternoon of Tuesday 21 March. Information about the conference is available at http://www.lifescienceworld.com/2006/wvcm_CA .
About Carrington
Carrington Laboratories, Inc., is an ISO 9001-certified, research-based biopharmaceutical company currently utilizing naturally-occurring complex carbohydrates to:
* manufacture and market products for mucositis, radiation dermatitis, wound and oral care; * manufacture and market the nutraceutical and cosmetic raw materials Manapol(R) and Hydrapol(TM); and * market consumer products under various brands. About DelSite
DelSite Biotechnologies, Inc. was formed based on discoveries at Carrington Laboratories, Inc., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carrington. DelSite Biotechnologies is a drug-delivery and biotechnology company established to provide the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with novel delivery solutions for new and existing proteins and peptides.
About GelVac(R) vaccines
The GelVac system is a proprietary nasal powder vaccine delivery mechanism, based on the GelSite(R) polymer. Dry powder formulations provide several potential advantages including better stability, room temperature storage and no need for mercury or other preservatives. Nasal immunization induces both systemic and mucosal immune responses.
About GelSite(R) polymer
Carrington’s patented GelSite polymer, derived from the Aloe vera plant, is a member of a family of carbohydrates that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has classified as “Generally Regarded As Safe” (GRAS). It is water-based and capable of changing from a solid or liquid into a gel upon contact with body fluids -- a process called in situ gelation -- making possible the sustained release of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals over prolonged periods of time.
Certain statements in this release concerning Carrington may be forward- looking. Actual events will be dependent upon a number of factors and risks including, but not limited to: subsequent changes in plans by the Company’s management; delays or problems in formulation, manufacturing, distribution, production and/or launch of new finished products; changes in the regulatory process; changes in market trends; and a number of other factors and risks described from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission, including the Form 10-Q, filed November 14, 2005.
Carrington Laboratories, Inc.
CONTACT: Richard Baker, +1-202-585-2084, or Ryan Seggel, +1-202-585-2806,both of Carrington Laboratories, Inc.
