WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Biomedica, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBII) announced today that its drug and vaccine development programs are being transferred to a new subsidiary, Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware Corporation. Dr. Graham P. Allaway, Senior Vice President of Drug Discovery at BBI and President of Panacos, will introduce the new Company on Monday, October 18th at the Mass Opportunities Biotechnology Investment Conference at the University Park Hotel, Cambridge MA. Dr. Allaway said: "BBI has built several potentially valuable pharmaceutical programs that are poised for development into clinical testing in the near future. Panacos was formed to attract the larger amounts of capital that will be required to move these programs rapidly and efficiently through the clinical development pathway. It is BBI's goal to raise capital for Panacos from strategic partners and venture investors, to establish it as an independent Company during 2000."
Panacos will focus on the development of a portfolio of complementary antiviral drug and vaccine programs with large market potential. One of Panacos's key assets is its Natural Product Discovery Platform, based on a collaboration with Professor K.H. Lee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the world's foremost natural product chemists. This platform focuses on the discovery of novel antiviral drugs by screening plants with a history of successful therapeutic applications in traditional medicine. Following identification of an inhibitory compound, derivatives with improved properties are produced synthetically. This innovative approach has resulted in the identification of several families of small molecule drug candidates targeting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) that are the subject of five issued U.S. patents. The most advanced of these compounds potently inhibit HIV infection in vitro and appear to have novel mechanisms of action compared with approved drugs. Panacos's goal is to initiate clinical trials of at least one of these compounds in 2000.
Panacos's Viral Fusion Inhibitor Platform is aimed at identifying therapeutics for a variety of medically important viral diseases targeting the first step in virus infection, fusion to a human cell. This program is based on the experience of the Company's two lead scientists, Dr. Graham P. Allaway and Dr. Carl T. Wild, in the discovery and development of viral fusion inhibitors. Panacos has initiated programs using this platform to find small molecule, orally available drug candidates for HIV-1 and other viruses. The Company believes that viral fusion offers an important new target for antiviral drug development and intends to establish a leading position in this field.
Panacos's Vaccine Platform utilizes a proprietary approach to the generation of prophylactic vaccines targeting HIV and other viruses. Over the past several years, it has become apparent that new directions are needed to develop an effective vaccine against HIV infection. Panacos is focusing on gp41, one of the proteins found on the exterior of the HIV-1 virus particle. The Company is targeting so-called "fusion active regions" of gp41 that are critical to the virus infection process. Recent studies suggest that generating antibodies to these fusion active regions of HIV's surface proteins may be the key to a protective HIV vaccine. BBI has been working in this area for several years and believes it has a significant advantage over competitors in this area of HIV vaccine development. Because of the expensive and lengthy development pathway for HIV vaccines, Panacos is planning to collaborate with a strategic partner early in the development of its "fusion active region" HIV vaccine.
Panacos' management is comprised of a core of experienced businesspeople and scientists. Panacos's Chairman is Richard T. Schumacher, who founded Boston Biomedica in 1986 and is currently its Chairman and CEO. He has extensive experience in corporate acquisitions, alliances, and development. Mr. Schumacher said: "This is an exciting development for BBI. By spinning out Panacos and retaining a substantial stake, we hope to allow our pharmaceutical programs to reach their full potential, thereby maximizing the return for BBI shareholders."
As Panacos's President and CEO, Dr. Graham Allaway brings extensive experience in anti-viral product discovery and development, business development and corporate partnering gained in previous posts at Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NY) and Manchester Biotech (UK). Dr. Carl Wild, a Principal Scientist at BBI, is Panacos's Vice President of R&D. Dr. Wild is an expert in HIV biology who, while at Duke University, played a key role in the discovery of a peptide-based HIV fusion inhibitor currently being developed by Trimeris, Inc. (NC). Dr. William R. Prather, BBI's Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Development, takes the additional roles of Director and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Panacos. Dr. Prather was a former practicing physician who has spent a number of years as an Analyst on Wall Street.
Alan J. Tuchman MD, Senior Health Care Analyst at Oscar Gruss and Son, a New York-based investment banking firm that provides research on BBI said: "Due to the significant resources required for the development of these technologies, the drug and vaccine programs could not realize their full potential within BBI's current corporate structure. As a result, some investors saw these programs as negatives to the market capitalization of Boston Biomedica. Establishing Panacos as a separate company makes tremendous sense in that it should allow access to the resources needed to realize the full potential of these very exciting technologies. This move will provide a focused environment for the continued development of their drug and vaccine programs in a way that should benefit the shareholders of BBI".
Boston Biomedica, Inc. is an infectious diseases management company providing products and services for the detection and treatment of infectious diseases (ID) such as AIDS, Lyme Disease, and Viral Hepatitis. The Company has four business units: (1) BBI Diagnostics, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer and seller of quality control and other diagnostic products used to ensure the accuracy of in-vitro diagnostic test results, (2) BBI Clinical Laboratories, a leading specialty infectious diseases testing laboratory, (3) BBI Biotech Research Laboratories, providing R&D support for the other BBI business units as well as contract research services for third parties, and (4) BBI Source Scientific, an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of laboratory and diagnostic instrumentation. In addition, the Company is pursuing research and development programs in the potentially explosive areas of pressure cycling technology (PCT), and of drug discovery via Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc., with the goal of introducing new solutions for the detection and treatment of infectious diseases.
Statements contained in this news release that state the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are "forward-looking" statements. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those projected include the possibility that due to unforeseen technical and other difficulties Boston Biomedica may not be able to successfully establish Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as an independent company or such establishment may take longer than currently expected. Further, (i) Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. may not be successful in raising the capital necessary to achieve its business and scientific objectives, (ii) due to unforeseen technical and business difficulties, there can be no assurances that Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will initiate clinical trials as currently anticipated, or that such clinical trials will lead to commercially viable pharmaceutical products, and (iii) Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. may be unable to form the strategic partnerships required to develop an HIV or other virus vaccine. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 1999. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.
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Contacts: Boston Biomedica, Inc.
Richard T. Schumacher, CEO & Chairman (508) 580-1900 (T)
William R. Prather, M.D., Sr. VP Finance (508) 580-1110 (F)
& Business Dvlp.
SOURCE Boston Biomedica, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.bbii.com
CONTACT: Richard T. Schumacher, CEO & Chairman or William R. Prather, M.D., Sr. VP Finance & Business Dvlp. of Boston Biomedica, Inc., 508-580-1900