HILLSIDE, N.J., July 11, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Integrated BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:INBP) announced today that the team comprising its subsidiary and its contract development partner, Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology ("FCMB"), was awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Defense through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ("DARPA") to further develop and validate the team's novel system for accelerated manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. The total value of the contract, if all phases of the development program are completed, would be $8.5 million.
This contract was awarded under DARPA's Accelerated Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals Program, with the goal of validating novel biological systems capable to produce life-saving medical countermeasures quickly enough to be effective against today's naturally-occurring, intentionally-released and pandemic biological threat agents. The goal of this program is to demonstrate the capability to generate three million doses of vaccine or immune-therapeutic within twelve weeks of an outbreak and at extremely low cost using highly resilient, rigorously controlled GMP-quality production platforms.
"We engaged with Fraunhofer more than three years ago to develop almost exactly the technology platform now sought by DARPA to address these prominent national security and world health problems, said E. Gerald Kay, Chairman of Integrated BioPharma, Inc. "As reflected in the various peer-reviewed papers recently published by Dr. Vidadi Yusibov, Executive Director of FCMB, our unique vectors, combined with plants (which are not genetically modified), can provide a rapid and highly scalable platform for cost-effective production of efficacious biopharmaceuticals. We expect our proprietary platform to satisfy DARPA's goals for real solutions to these national security and health problems," added Mr. Kay.
About Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology
Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology was established in July 2001 as partnership between Fraunhofer Society in Germany and the State of Delaware. FCMB is a non-profit organization that is part of the Fraunhofer USA, Inc., incorporated in Rhode Island, with the license to conduct business in the state of Delaware. Fraunhofer USA, Inc. is headquartered in Plymouth, MI and has five Centers in the United States. FCMB is located at the Delaware Technology Park in Newark, Delaware, and is a unique institution conducting research in the area of plant biotechnology, utilizing newly developed/developing cutting edge technologies to assist the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of human and animal diseases.
About Integrated BioPharma, Inc. (INBP)
Integrated BioPharma presently serves the varied needs of the health care industry through its Nutraceutical business, which creates, develops, manufactures and markets health products worldwide; its Biotechnology business, which uses its patented plant-based technology to produce vaccines and therapeutic antibodies; and its Pharmaceutical business, which operates contract research and cGMP manufacturing facilities. Further information is available at www.iBioPharma.com.
Statements included in this release related to Integrated BioPharma, Inc. may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological development, market demand, and the company's ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues in the sponsoring client. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect the company's financial results can be found in the company's Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This document was cleared by DARPA on 7/10/2007. Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited.