HILLSIDE, N.J., Aug. 14, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Integrated BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:INBP) announced that its subsidiary, InB:Biotechnologies, Inc. (InB:Bio) has developed what it believes is a novel, proprietary platform technology for the rapid, efficient and economical manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, including vaccine antigens, antibodies and other therapeutic proteins. The Company believes that implementation of this technology could conceptually change and revolutionize biomanufacturing. The Company intends to realize value from this proprietary intellectual property by licensing its use to others, in each case for a specific application, and to derive revenues, largely net, from royalties and other payments related to the use of the intellectual property for the production of a subject biopharmaceutical product.
The core of this technology is based on a uniquely designed vector system ("launch vectors") that combines advantages of two well-known expression systems. Launch vectors enable the rapid production of high levels of target protein in ordinary (not genetically modified) plants to create biopharmaceuticals in fully contained and controlled facilities under regulatory-friendly conditions.
The technology platform provides key benefits, including:
1. Safety: Eliminates the need to use live infectious disease agents
or tissues and materials of animal origin. Plants are not infected
with pathogens hazardous to humans or animals.
2. Capacity & Scalability: Plants can be easily scaled up providing
large amounts of biomass, a significant advantage over other
production systems.
3. Time Efficiency: The transient nature of gene expression and the
ready availability of ordinary (not genetically modified) seed
material create unparalleled capacity for rapid scale up
providing metric ton quantities of biomass in a matter of weeks.
4. Affordability: Low cost facilities and source material provide
economical product manufacturing capabilities. The
cost-effectiveness of this approach should displace many more
costly current technologies and open up new opportunities for
production of therapeutic proteins, vaccines for infectious
diseases and veterinary vaccines that are unaffordable using
current technologies.
5. Flexibility: The antigenic content of vaccine candidates can be
rapidly modified to include components from newly identified
targets that could enhance immunogenicity and protective efficacy.
Coupled with time efficient scale-up, this allows for the rapid
availability of vaccines against new pathogenic strains, such as
seasonal and pandemic influenza, as they arise.
Market Opportunities
The global pharmaceutical market is expected to more than double in value exceeding the $1.3 trillion mark by 2020. Although there is competition within each of InB:Bio's market sectors, the company has aligned its capabilities and technologies in a highly competitive and market-oriented manner.
Vaccines Market. After years of relative dormancy, the vaccine market is experiencing a remarkable resurgence with vaccines predicted to outpace drugs in sales growth over the coming years. Vaccine sales were $10B in 2005, up from $6B in 2002, and are expected to reach $15B by 2009. Current global influenza vaccine production capacity is 350 million doses at a market value of approximately $2.2B and is expected to reach $3.7B by 2010. Global demand for vaccination during an influenza pandemic is expected to exceed 13 billion doses. InB:Bio's plant-based production platform was developed in response to this urgent global need for a rapid increase in manufacturing capability.
Monoclonal Antibody Market. The monoclonal antibody (mAb) market is one of the fastest growing sectors of the pharmaceutical industry, with exceptional 48% growth between 2003 and 2004. The mAb market is expected to almost triple in value from $10.3B in 2004 to $30.3B in 2010. One critical challenge in this rapidly-growing sector of the biotech market is production capacity. Conventional production methods suffer from extremely long development times, safety risks and very high production costs. We believe InB:Bio's plant-based technology can address these issues for rapid, economical production of monoclonal antibodies.
Therapeutic Protein Market. The therapeutic protein market is forecasted to achieve sales of over $70B by 2010. Hematology, diabetes and oncology will be the most valuable areas for therapeutic recombinant proteins. Demand is outstripping production capacity and strategic investment in low-cost, high-capacity technologies is critical in order to bring new products to the market.
InB:Bio's plant-based production technology promises potentially lower costs and rapid transition from initial product concept to approved product. The Company is pursuing a technology licensing strategy to penetrate the therapeutic protein market.
InB:Bio's Proprietary Product Pipeline
The InB:Bio technology platform has demonstrated utility for the production of a broad range of proteins including vaccine antigens, antibodies and other therapeutic proteins.
Immuno- Protective
In vitro genicity efficacy
Produced character- in animal in animal
Target in plants ization model model
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Influenza (vaccine) x x x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Influenza (mAb) x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Anthrax (vaccine) x x x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Anthrax (mAb) x x x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Plague (vaccine) x x x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Trypanosomes
(vaccine) x x x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
HPV (vaccine) x x x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Diabetes Autoantigen
(diagnostic) x x NA NA
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Malaria (vaccine) x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
RSV (vaccine) x x x x
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
Human Growth Hormone
(therapeutic) x x NA NA
------------------- --------- ---------- --------- ----------
In addition to offering to license InB:Bio's platform technology to others for particular applications, the Company is developing its own proprietary product pipeline using its novel platform technology.
InB:Bio has developed several lead vaccine candidates that have been successfully validated in preclinical studies. The priority targets are novel sub-unit vaccines against seasonal and pandemic influenza. InB:Bio's proprietary technology could be a significant contributor to meeting global demand during a flu pandemic, particularly because of its unique scalability and capability to produce vaccines shortly after identification of the relevant virus strain.
The Company is also developing proprietary monoclonal antibodies with broad inhibitory activity against multiple strains of pandemic avian influenza.
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.