VIVALIS announces the signature of a broad
collaboration agreement and commercial license for the use of the EB66® cell line for the production of a monoclonal antibody
Nantes & Lyon (France) - March 13th, 2012 - Vivalis (NYSE Euronext: VLS) announced today the signature of a joint collaboration and commercial license agreement related to the use of Vivalis EB66® cell line, for the setting up of an industrial process and the manufacturing of clinical batches of an antibody, proprietary of a European mid-sized biopharmaceutical company.
Franck Grimaud, CEO, and Majid Mehtali, CSO, co-managers of Vivalis jointly stated, "We are pleased to enter into this collaboration. This new commercial license in the field of therapeutic protein demonstrates that the EB66® technology is not only very innovative for vaccine production: all results obtained during the last months confirmed that EB66® cell line has the potential to constitute a new cellular platform for the production of recombinant proteins, in particular anticancer monoclonal antibodies with enhanced ADCC activity or proteins that are difficult to express in standard systems."
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Financial terms include upfront, milestones payments and royalties. Vivalis is also financed for the process development and the production of clinical batches.
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About The EB66® Cell Line
The EB66® cell line, derived from avian embryonic stem cells, presents unique industrial and regulatory characteristics, such as long-term genetic stability, immortality and cell growth up to high cell densities in suspension using serum-free media (>40 million cells/mL).
EB66® cells replicate a wide range of human and animal viruses and are currently used for the production of investigational viral vaccines by many major vaccine developers.
A Biologics Master File (BMF) for the EB66® cell line with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was filed on June 27, 2008 and is updated annually.
EB66® cells are also easily engineered to express recombinant proteins of interest (> 1.0 g/l). Monoclonal antibodies produced in EB66® cells have a human-like glycosylation profile with the additional benefits of reduced fucose content, naturally. This latter characteristic provides increased cytotoxic activity (ADCC) to antibodies, which may be useful in the treatment of cancer and infectious disease.
About VIVALIS (www.vivalis.com)
VIVALIS (NYSE Euronext: 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 unmet medical needs. VIVALIS' expertise and intellectual property are leveraged in three main areas:
EB66® Cell Line
VIVALIS offers research and commercial licenses for its EB66® cell line, derived from duck embryonic stem cells, to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the production of therapeutic and prophylactic viral vaccines, virosomes, VLP's, and recombinant proteins (with a focus on monoclonal antibodies having enhanced cytotoxic activity). EB66® cell line based vaccines are currently in clinical trials in the USA and Japan. Through these programs VIVALIS receives upfront, clinical stage milestone payments along with royalties on licensees net sales.
VIVA|ScreenTM Human Antibody Discovery Platform
Customized solutions for the discovery, development, and production of fully human monoclonal antibodies are now offered by VIVALIS. Through these programs VIVALIS receives upfront, clinical stage milestone payments along with royalties on licensees net sales.
3D-ScreenTM Drug Discovery Platform
VIVALIS performs discovery and development, up to pre-clinical evaluation, of original small chemical molecules identified with its proprietary platform, 3D-ScreenTM. This unique screening platform is designed to identify original molecules that alter the three-dimensional structure of a target protein, thus modulating its biological function through an innovative mode of action. VIVALIS is building a portfolio of proprietary new chemical entities for the treatment of hepatitis-C virus infection. VIVALIS also offers on a service basis to develop ready-to-use customized 3D-ScreenTM HTS assays directed against target proteins of interest.
Based in Nantes & Lyon (France) and in Toyama (Japan) VIVALIS was founded in 1999 by the Grimaud Group (ca. 1,500 employees), a worldwide leader in animal genetic selection. VIVALIS has established more than 30 partnerships and licenses with world leaders in this sector, including Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Transgene, Pfizer Animal Health, Kaketsuken, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine, Merial, Merck Animal Health, and SAFC Biosciences. VIVALIS is a member of the French ATLANTIC BIOTHERAPIES and LYON BIOPOLE bioclusters and a member of the Japanese HOKURIKU INNOVATION CLUSTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCE in Toyama.
| VIVALIS Listed on Euronext Paris - Compartment B of NYSE Euronext Reuters: VLS.PA - Bloomberg: VLS FP Included in NYSE Euronext's SBF 250, CAC Small 90 and Next Biotech indexes | |
This document contains forward-looking statements and comments on the company's objectives and strategies. No guarantee can be given to any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements contained in this document, which are subject to inherent risks, including risk factors described in the company's document de référence, changes in economic conditions, the financial markets or the markets in which the company operates.
Contacts
VIVALIS
Franck Grimaud, CEO
Email: investors@vivalis.com
NewCap
Financial communications agency
Axelle Vuillermet / Pierre Laurent
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 44 71 94 91
Email: vivalis@newcap.fr
