Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Cluck, cluck…

[Goats and cows are being employed to secrete protein drugs in their milk, although no product has yet been commercially approved using this technology. Chickens don’t have mammary glands, but they do lay eggs!]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040330/fltu009_1.html

>>
Viragen Announces New Partnerships to Develop Electroporation Technology for Avian Transgenic Biomanufacturing

PLANTATION, Fla., March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viragen, Inc. (Amex: VRA) today announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with privately-held RMR Technologies, LLC in Coral Gables, Florida and the University of South Florida (Tampa) to obtain rights to a gene delivery technology to be evaluated in its collaboration with Roslin Institute to develop avian transgenic technology as an efficient and cost-effective biomanufacturing platform for the production of human therapeutic protein drugs. Financial terms were not disclosed. [They never are in these kinds of deals.]

The agreement provides Viragen with an option to acquire an exclusive worldwide commercial license to this advanced electroporation technology for use within the field of avian transgenics. The gene delivery system, based on a highly developed electrode device, uses a specific combination of pulsed electric fields to introduce a gene sequence into the chick embryo. The goal is to introduce a gene encoding a therapeutic protein into the chicken and thus enable the breeding of generations of chickens that also express this gene. The project aims to breed flocks of transgenic chickens capable of producing high volumes of protein-based drugs, such as cancer-fighting monoclonal antibodies, which would be expressed in the whites of their eggs. The technology is fully protected by a portfolio of patents and patent applications.

Viragen's Director of Research (Emeritus), Professor William H. Stimson discussed the RMR collaboration at Biotech 2004, an industry event hosted by Florida International University on March 25th. According to Dr. Stimson, "Electroporation is one of three different gene delivery systems we are examining so that we may hold a portfolio of techniques that could be capable of delivering a range of gene constructs designed to express therapeutic proteins in the egg white of hens. Initial feasibility studies were conducted at the University of South Florida and the work is being transferred to Roslin for further evaluation."

"Electroporation" is a term that describes the use of pulsed electric fields to temporarily open microscopic pores in membranes which allow molecules to pass from one side of the cell membrane to the other. When the pulses are properly sequenced, microscopic pores reseal spontaneously and the treated cells continue to grow and function modified by the materials that have been introduced into the cells.

RMR's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Richard Heller, stated, "The electroporation technology developed at RMR differs significantly from 'standard' electroporation techniques in the configuration of the electrode and the resulting electrical pulse patterns. Therefore, RMR and Viragen have jointly filed a U.S. patent application covering its use in avian transgenics. It's a novel and promising application for our technology."

"We are excited by the prospect of our technology being utilized as part of such an ambitious project to offer a preferable method for biomanufacturing," stated Mr. Howard Goldman, President of RMR. "Making drugs in chicken eggs should offer many advantages to traditional production systems and we will work closely with Viragen, Roslin and the University of South Florida to move this vision forward."

About Avian Transgenic Technology:

Viragen holds the worldwide exclusive license to commercialize Avian Transgenic Technology as granted by Roslin Institute (Scotland). The project is designed to develop the common chicken into a pharmaceutical bioreactor, one that can meet the growing need for protein-based human therapeutics. Based on the creation of lines of transgenic hens which have been engineered to produce the target protein in their eggs, this technology is being developed as a cost-effective and efficient alternative to standard biomanufacturing techniques, having many apparent advantages in ease of scale- up, lower costs of production and quality of product produced. The proportion of protein drugs, including monoclonal antibodies, under development is forecast to be expanding rapidly and manufacturing constraints, including lack of adequate facilities, have been recognized.

About RMR Technologies:

RMR specializes in the development of energy field enhanced molecular delivery solutions for biotechnology products and is the collective effort of three University of South Florida scientists, Dr.'s Richard Heller, Richard Gilbert and Mark Jarosezski. RMR scientists have a proven record for creating intellectual property and receiving prestigious grants to maximize their research efforts in the development of cutting-edge electroporation technology. Collectively, they have 35 issued and pending patents.

About Viragen, Inc.:

Viragen is a biotechnology company specializing in the research, development and commercialization of natural and recombinant protein-based drugs designed to treat a broad range of viral and malignant diseases. These protein-based drugs include natural human alpha interferon, monoclonal antibodies, peptide drugs and therapeutic vaccines. Viragen's strategy also includes the development of Avian Transgenic Technology for the large-scale, cost-effective manufacturing of its portfolio of protein-based drugs, as well as offering Contract Manufacturing for the biopharmaceutical industry.

Viragen is publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange (VRA). Viragen's majority-owned subsidiary, Viragen International, Inc., is publicly traded on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board (VGNI). Viragen's key partners and licensors include: Roslin Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cancer Research UK, University of Nottingham (U.K.), University of Miami, America's Blood Centers and the German Red Cross
<<