GAITHERSBURG, Md., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNVCD) today announced that it has entered into a second agreement with Merial, the animal health division of sanofi-aventis. In December 2010, GenVec announced that the company will be working with Merial to develop and commercialize GenVec’s proprietary vaccine technology for use against foot-and-mouth disease. Under a new agreement and program, Merial has the right to evaluate GenVec technology for applications in other areas of animal health. Merial has elected to start the program using the GenVec technology to target swine diseases.
“Our expanded collaboration with Merial is important to GenVec. In keeping with our business strategy, this agreement provides a path by which our technology can be incorporated into new products for commercialization in the animal health arena and, thereby, generate revenues for GenVec through royalties on sales. This agreement further demonstrates the strong interest shown by leading companies in our widely applicable core technology,” said Dr. Paul Fischer, GenVec’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We have been impressed with GenVec’s differentiated technology, and are excited to expand the fields in which we collaborate,” said Dr. Robert Nordgren, Global Head of Merial’s Bio R&D.
“Merial has agreed to work on targeted pathogenic viral diseases in swine which have proven to be difficult targets against which to develop vaccines, and we look forward to working with GenVec in these and other areas,” said Dr. Teshome Mebatsion, Senior Director Vector Vaccine Research, Merial.
About GenVec
GenVec is a biopharmaceutical company using differentiated, proprietary technologies to create superior therapeutics and vaccines. A key component of our strategy is to develop and commercialize our product candidates through collaborations. GenVec is working with leading companies and organizations such as Novartis, Merial, and the U.S. Government to support a portfolio of product programs that address the prevention and treatment of a number of significant human and animal health concerns. GenVec’s development programs address therapeutic areas such as hearing loss, balance disorders, and cancer; as well as vaccines against infectious diseases including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), dengue fever, influenza, malaria, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In the area of animal health we are developing vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Additional information about GenVec is available at www.genvec.com and in the Company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Statements herein relating to future financial or business performance, conditions or strategies and other financial and business matters, including expectations regarding funding, manufacturing, the development of products, and the success of the collaboration with Novartis, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. GenVec cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or historical experience include risks and uncertainties, including the failure by GenVec to secure and maintain relationships with collaborators; risks relating to the early stage of GenVec’s product candidates under development; uncertainties relating to clinical trials; risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of GenVec’s proposed product candidates; uncertainties related to the outcome and process of GenVec’s previously announced strategic review, dependence on the efforts of third parties; dependence on intellectual property; and risks that we may lack the financial resources and access to capital to fund our operations. Further information on the factors and risks that could affect GenVec’s business, financial conditions and results of operations, are contained in GenVec’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available at www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and GenVec assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.
Investor and Media Contact:
GenVec, Inc.
Douglas J. Swirsky
(240) 632-5510
dswirsky@genvec.com
SOURCE GenVec, Inc.
