Vivalis Accelerates Marketing Of EB66 Cell Line In North America

NANTES, FRANCE--(Marketwire - October 13, 2009) -

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VIVALIS (NYSE Euronext Paris: VLS), a biopharmaceutical company that provides the pharmaceutical industry with innovative cell-based solutions for the manufacture of vaccines and proteins and develops drugs to prevent and treat viral diseases, announces today that they executed an agreement with Louis J. Cantolupo to accelerate the marketing of the EB66® cell line in North America, principally in monoclonal antibodies and the therapeutic proteins.

Mr. Cantolupo, who will be working out of Washington, DC, will strengthen Vivalis's current business development team to accelerate the marketing of the EB66 and the signature of new licenses in the field of therapeutic proteins. Mr. Cantolupo was previously Associate Director of Business Development with GenVec, Inc., where he was responsible for partnering early stage products and platform technologies. He also was responsible for developing and executing strategy for licensing the PER.C6® technologies developed by Crucell in the field of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. He received his BS in biotechnology from the Rochester Institute of Technology and his MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Franck Grimaud, CEO, and Majid Mehtali, CSO, co-managers of Vivalis said, "We are very pleased to benefit from the expertise and network of Louis to promote our EB66® cell line in North America in the field of therapeutic proteins and antibody production. North America, especially the United States, is by far the main market for the development of these products and reinforces our commercial outreach on the continent. Vivalis's clear objective is to repeat, in the protein field, the success achieved in the vaccine industry with more than 27 licences signed so far."

About the EB66® line

The EB66® cell line, derived from duck embryonic stem cells, presents unique industrial and regulatory characteristics such as long-term genetic stability, immortality and cell growth to high cell densities in suspension in a serum-free medium (>20 millions cells/mL).

The BMF (Biologics Master File) for the registration of the EB66® cell line with the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) was filed on June 27, 2008.

The EB66® cell line is currently used or being tested by 75% of the major players in vaccines. VIVALIS has furthermore demonstrated that the EB66® cell line can be easily genetically modified, permitting the expression of recombinant proteins of potential interest. Moreover the glycosylation profile of monoclonal antibodies produced through EB66® cell lines is similar to the glycosylation profiles of human monoclonal antibodies with the added benefit of being distinguished by reduced fucose content. This latter characteristic is known to be associated with a higher level of antibody cytotoxic activity, particularly useful in the treatment of cancer cells.

About VIVALIS (www.vivalis.com)

VIVALIS (NYSE Euronext Paris: VLS) is a biopharmaceutical company that provides innovative cell-based solutions to the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of vaccines and proteins, and develops drugs for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases. VIVALIS' expertise and intellectual property are exploited in three main areas:

1. The development and manufacturing of vaccines. VIVALIS offers research and commercial licenses for its EB66® cell line, derived from duck stem cells, to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the production of vaccines. Vivalis receives upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties on its licensees' net sales.

2. The development of production systems for recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. VIVALIS licenses its EB66® cell line for the production of recombinant proteins to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Vivalis receives upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties on its licensees' net sales.

3. The construction of a portfolio of proprietary products in the area of vaccines and anti-viral molecules (hepatitis C).

Based in Nantes (France), VIVALIS was founded in 1999 by the Grimaud group (1,450 employees), the second largest group worldwide in animal genetic selection. VIVALIS has established more than 30 partnerships and licenses with world leaders in this sector, including Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, CSL, Kaketsuken, Merial, Intervet, SAFC Biosciences. VIVALIS is a member of the French ATLANTIC BIOTHERAPIES bio-cluster.

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