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Microbix Signs Letters of Intent to License its Flu Vaccine Yield Enhancement Technology
TORONTO, Dec. 14 /CNW/ - Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX:MBX) has signed two Letters Of Intent with...
About this update from Microbix Biosystems Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nTORONTO, Dec. 14 /CNW/ - Microbix Biosystems Inc. (TSX:MBX) has signed\ntwo Letters Of Intent with companies outside North America which are\ninterested in licensing the VIRUSMAX(TM) technology on a non-exclusive basis.\n\n\nThe technical evaluation of the VIRUSMAX(TM) technology was successfully\ncompleted. Two of the current season's influenza strains were tested and both\nshowed at least a two-fold increase in yield. The first definitive agreement\nis now being negotiated and Microbix anticipates agreements will be\nestablished early in 2008.\n\n\nMicrobix also announced today that the technology has been granted a\npatent in Australia. This follows patents being awarded in the U.S., Canada\nand India. Patents are pending in a number of other countries.\n\n\nVIRUSMAX(TM) has significant implications for the influenza vaccine\nmarketplace. Currently, there are only three countries that produce enough\nvaccine to immunize their own populations - Canada, France and Australia.\nEvery other country lacks the manufacturing capacity to meet domestic needs,\nwith the largest deficits in the U.S., China and India.\n\n\nAnnual global flu production is currently 350 million doses. If\nVIRUSMAX(TM) is adopted on a global basis, the number of doses available would\nincrease to at least 700 million.\n\n\nFor Microbix, the next step in generating annual revenues from\nVIRUSMAX(TM) is to license the technology to vaccine producers on a\nnon-exclusive basis. "These Letters of Intent are a major step towards\nachieving that goal, and our management team remains focused on signing\nagreements in 2008," said Microbix CEO William J. Gastle. He added that\nfurther details will follow.\n\n\nMicrobix' discovery has been reported in Vaccine, an international,\npeer-reviewed scientific journal. In addition, the yield enhancement has been\nevaluated and confirmed in an independent study.\n\n\nMicrobix specializes in developing proprietary biological technologies,\nincluding biotherapeutic drugs, vaccine technologies and animal reproduction\ntechnologies. It has been researching and developing the flu vaccine yield\nenhancement technology for a number of years, with a team at the company's\nToronto laboratories spearheading these efforts.\n\n\nThis press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject\nto risks and uncer...