Greater Than $13 Million
WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Biomedica, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBII) today announced that its wholly owned contract research subsidiary, BBI Biotech Research Laboratories (BBI Biotech) in Gaithersburg, MD, has been awarded a major contract for AIDS vaccine clinical trials support by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The new contract, in the amount of $9,417,245 over a seven-year period, with first-year funding of $1,298,329, will provide testing to detect HIV-1 infection and to assess vaccine-induced, HIV specific immune responses. Several of these specialized tests are being developed at BBI Biotech. Among the collaborators in these trials will be the AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Group (AVEG) and the HIV Network for Prevention Trials (HIVNET) Statistical and Coordinating Center.
"This is the third AIDS related research contract awarded to BBI Biotech in the last two months, with a combined total of approximately $13 million in revenue, including option years," said Richard T. Schumacher, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boston Biomedica Inc. "We are very proud of these achievements by our scientists, and committed to providing the highest quality services in the development of vaccines against HIV. Much of the work done under this contract will also help us understand the relevance of different viral markers in early HIV infection."
"We will follow vaccinated volunteers, HIV positive individuals, and controls over time to monitor the ability of the candidate vaccines to elicit and sustain virus specific immune responses," added Dr. Mark Manak, Senior Vice President for Research and Development of Boston Biomedica. "Ultimately, these data will provide the NIH with important information about the effectiveness of these vaccines by demonstrating whether there is a decreased incidence of HIV infection in the vaccinated versus control populations."
BBI Biotech offers a variety of contract research services in molecular and cell biology and immunology to government agencies, diagnostic test manufacturers and biomedical researchers.
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. These products are used by clinical and research laboratories, blood banks, IVD manufacturers and regulatory agencies 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 these contracts will remain
funded at the proposed level. 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 Maribel Lopez or Jon Siegal of Ronald Trahan Associates, Inc., 617-332-0101
