BBI Extends Anti-HIV Drug-Discovery Agreement with University of
North Carolina
WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Biomedica Inc. (Nasdaq: BBII) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) announced today that they have received three U.S. patents covering compounds that inhibit HIV replication, and that they have extended for one year their original three-year Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA), which was due to expire this month. Financial terms of the SRA were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Boston Biomedica will continue to fund research in drug discovery by one of the world's foremost natural products chemists, Dr. K. H. Lee, Kenan Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Director of the Natural Products Laboratory at UNC, to find and develop compounds from natural products (primarily plant derivatives) that inhibit HIV replication in an in vitro assay system. Dr. Lee and his staff of research scientists are also working to purify and characterize these compounds, and to make synthetic derivatives that are more soluble, less toxic, or have other enhanced anti-HIV properties.
Boston Biomedica has exclusive worldwide rights to three families of anti- HIV compounds as a result of this collaboration with UNC. Several compounds have exhibited therapeutic indices in in vitro assay systems significantly in excess of those recorded for AZT under comparable test conditions. In addition, under the SRA, the Company has the right of first refusal to any new anti-HIV compounds or derivatives developed in the course of this sponsored research.
"We are sufficiently encouraged by the results from the compounds already under license to Boston Biomedica that we expect to use this next year to significantly expand our work with Dr. Lee and his group," said Richard T. Schumacher, founder and CEO of Boston Biomedica. "At the same time, we will look at additional growth opportunities for our drug-discovery program, such as strategic alliances, sub-licenses, and spin-offs."
"We are very excited about our drug-discovery collaboration with Boston Biomedica," said UNC's Dr. K. H. Lee. "Although we have a long way yet to go, this work has the potential to provide the world with important new drugs for AIDS and, quite possibly, other diseases as well."
Boston Biomedica Inc. is a worldwide manufacturer and provider of proprietary quality control products for use with IVD test kits for the detection, analysis and monitoring of infectious diseases, including AIDS, Hepatitis, Lyme Disease and ToRCH. The Company's Accurun(TM) product line is used by clinical and research laboratories, blood banks, and IVD manufacturers to help ensure the accuracy of infectious disease test results through the routine monitoring of test performance. The company also manufactures diagnostic test kit components and laboratory instrumentation, and provides specialty laboratory testing services.
This release may include forward-looking statements that may or may not
materialize. There can be no assurance that additional anti-HIV compounds
will be discovered in the course of the SRA; that any discovered compounds
will make it to commercial use; or that the SRA will continue past the one-
year extension. Additional information and risk factors that could
potentially affect Boston Biomedica's financial results may be found in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
SOURCE Boston Biomedica Inc.
CONTACT: Richard T. Schumacher, Pres./CEO or Kevin W. Quinlan, CFO of Boston Biomedica, Inc., 508-580-1900 or Jeff Goodman, Maribel Lopez of Ronald Trahan Associates, Inc., 617-332-0101