iBio, Inc. Expands Exclusive Product Collaboration With Novici Biotech

NEWARK, DE--(Marketwired - October 22, 2014) - iBio, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IBIO), a leading provider of plant-based biotechnology for developing and manufacturing biological products, and Novici Biotech LLC (Novici) have agreed to broaden their commercial collaboration, currently focused on antibodies and certain vaccine products, to include iBio’s proprietary IBIO-CFB03 product for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis and other fibrotic diseases. This expanded program will combine the strength of the iBioLaunch™ platform with Novici’s patented GRAMMR® technology for rapid evolution of gene sequences to significantly increase expression yield of target proteins.

IBIO-CFB03 and related proteins have been produced in plants on the iBioLaunch platform substantially more quickly and cost-effectively than has been possible with traditional methods. By combining the strengths of the iBioLaunch platform with Novici’s GRAMMR technology, iBio expects to drive production efficiency even further as the fibrosis team initiates expanded animal testing and additional IND-enabling tasks.

In April 2013, iBio announced the achievement of a technology transfer milestone when Novici was able to use the iBioLaunch system in a challenge study, without any involvement of iBio, to reliably replicate production of commercial yields of targeted biotherapeutics and vaccines. An additional benchmark was achieved in a second live-fire study in May 2013 when Novici used iBioLaunch technology to produce a recombinant vaccine candidate for H7N9 influenza within 21 days of receiving initial antigen sequence information from iBio. Subsequently, the two companies have worked together on iBio-proprietary and third party antibody product candidates addressing both chronic therapy and acute infectious disease treatment.

Novici has previously applied GRAMMR technology successfully for gene and protein optimization to rapidly increase the expression yields of certain target products without alteration of the structure and function of the proteins themselves. By increasing the efficiency with which a desired product can be manufactured, without changing the characteristic of the product or established downstream purification processes, manufacturing capacity of existing facilities can be increased when needed to address pandemic or bioterrorism threats or other urgent needs without the costs and time required to enlarge existing or build additional facilities.

About Novici Biotech, LLC

Novici is a private biotechnology company offering proprietary synthetic biology tools and directed evolution capabilities to advance the product-focused goals of clients in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial fields. Novici’s patented GRAMMR® technology for high-resolution genetic reassortment enhances gene functionality at both the nucleotide and protein level. Novici is focused on bringing to market its unique synthetic biology technologies, including the means to empirically optimize the codon usage structure of any gene to endow it with optimal expression yield, protein folding integrity, and cell type compatibility, and to optimize protein structure and function for commercial use. For more information, please visit the company’s website: www.novicibiotech.com.

About iBio, Inc.

iBio owns the iBioLaunch™ platform, which is a proprietary, transformative technology for development and production of biologics using transient gene expression in unmodified green plants. iBio is developing a proprietary product for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, and other fibrotic diseases using its iBioLaunch platform. The company also offers technology licenses to others and provides collaborators full support for turn-key implementation of its technology for protein therapeutics and vaccines. In Brazil, iBio has been collaborating with Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) since 2011 to develop a recombinant yellow fever vaccine based upon iBio technology. Further information is available at: www.ibioinc.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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