PPHM & DEPT OF DEFENSE, 44 MILLION $$ DEAL
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Awarded DTRA Contract Worth up to $44.4 Million to Develop Bavituximab for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
Tuesday July 1, 7:50 am ET
- Five-Year Defense Threat Reduction Agency Contract Will Support Development of Bavituximab and Fully Human Equivalent as Potential Broad-Spectrum Anti-Viral Agents -
TUSTIN, Calif., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM - News), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, today announced it has entered into a five-year contract worth up to $44.4 million to test and develop bavituximab and an equivalent fully human antibody as potential broad-spectrum treatments for viral hemorrhagic fever infections. The initial contract was awarded through the Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI) of the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
Bavituximab is Peregrine's lead anti-phosphatidylserine (anti-PS) monoclonal antibody and is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of HCV infections and cancer. In preclinical animal models, bavituximab has demonstrated encouraging anti-viral activity as a potential treatment for viral hemorrhagic fevers. Peregrine's fully human anti-PS antibody, which will also be assessed under this contract, is currently in preclinical development.
Under the terms of the contact, DTRA funds are available to cover testing and development efforts totaling up to $22.3 million over a 24-month base period, with $5 million appropriated immediately for the current federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2008. The remainder of the $22.3 million in funding is expected to be appropriated over the remainder of the two-year base period ending June 29, 2010. The contract can be extended beyond the base period to cover up to $44.4 million in funding over the five-year contract period. Work and funding under this contract are expected to begin immediately.
"This substantial five-year contract award is especially timely in view of recent scientific publications highlighting the broad anti-viral potential of our anti-PS agents such as bavituximab," said Steven W. King, president and CEO of Peregrine. "We are pleased that DTRA has recognized bavituximab's safety profile to date and its promising anti-viral activity, which have been demonstrated in proof of concept models of hemorrhagic fever infection and in two successful clinical trials in patients with chronic HCV infection."
Mr. King continued, "We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the anti-bioterrorism mission of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and we also believe that some of the work performed under this contract can be leveraged to support common development tasks applicable to our ongoing bavituximab clinical programs for the treatment of HCV and cancer. The non-dilutive capital provided by this government contract will enable us to further assess the potential of bavituximab to combat the threat of viral hemorrhagic fevers and to help advance the overall bavituximab clinical program."
The DTRA biodefense contract award has the potential to create long-term value for Peregrine, including generating future potential revenues from government stockpiling to combat bioterrorism threats. In the near-term, funding from this initiative will also allow Peregrine to use data and experience obtained from the development and scale-up of bavituximab to support its ongoing clinical development programs.
"We look forward to a close partnership with the DTRA during the performance of this program," said Ronald T. Aimes, Ph.D., associate director of research & development at Peregrine and principal investigator on the contract. "This is an exciting opportunity for Peregrine to contribute to the country's defenses while also achieving important synergies with our development programs for bavituximab and our earlier stage anti-PS technologies."
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