EDMONTON, June 30 /CNW/ - Biomira Inc. (Nasdaq:BIOM) (TSX:BRA) announced today that data from the Company's Phase IIb BLP25 Liposome vaccine (L-BLP25) is scheduled to be the subject of an oral presentation at the 11th World Conference on Lung Cancer. The conference is to take place in Barcelona, Spain, July 3-6, 2005. The lead investigator for the Phase IIb trial and scheduled presenter is Dr. Charles Butts, Medical Oncologist, of the Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta. Dr. Butts' presentation is part of a session planned for July 5, 2005, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. CEST. The presentation is entitled, "A multicenter phase IIB randomized study of the liposomal MUC1 vaccine L-BLP25 for immunotherapy of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)." "This is another opportunity to discuss our clinical results with the oncology community," said Alex McPherson, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Biomira. "We are working vigorously on the plans for our scheduled Phase III study, along with our collaborator, Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany. That trial is planned to commence towards the end of 2005. Letting as many potential investigators know of our impressive results is an important step in preparing for our next phase of clinical testing." Dr. Butts' presentation will outline the safety profile and impressive survival data shown in the Phase IIb study. At the time of the last data analysis undertaken in November 2004 and announced in December of that year, the results of the randomized, open-label study in 171 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer indicate that overall median survival of the patients on vaccine plus best supportive care was 4.2 months longer (17.2 months versus 13.0 months) compared to patients receiving best supportive care alone. Particularly encouraging survival results were seen in the subset of patients with Stage IIIB NSCLC. At the time of the November 2004 survival update, conducted approximately two years after the last patient had been enrolled in the trial, the median survival of patients with Stage IIIB locoregional disease who received best supportive care was 13.3 months and the median survival had not yet been reached for those of the same disease stage who received vaccine. This means that more than 50 per cent of the patients on the vaccine arm in this subset were still alive at that time. The difference in survival between the two groups remains non-significant (p(equal sign)0.0924). However, the median survival of the vaccine arm will be no less than 23 months and the hazard ratio remains 0.565 (A hazard ratio of less than one indicates a decrease in the risk of death). The one-year, two-year, and three-year survival differences continue to suggest a positive survival impact for those who received vaccine. The two-year survival was 57.1 per cent for the L-BLP25 patients versus 33.3 per cent for those receiving best supportive care alone. 11th World Conference on Lung Cancer More than 200 lung cancer specialists from a wide range of disciplines are scheduled to participate in the scientific program and their presentations are expected to provide delegates with information on the latest developments in basic and clinical research. More than 1,500 abstracts have been submitted and the Conference is expecting more than 3,750 participants. The Companies Our key collaboration in developing therapeutic cancer vaccines is with Merck KGaA. Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with sales of EUR 5.9 billion in 2004, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by 28,900 employees in 52 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds a 73 per cent interest and free shareholders own the remaining 27 per cent. The former U.S. subsidiary, Merck & Co., has been completely independent of the Merck Group since 1917. Merck KGaA has built a strategic oncology portfolio by developing and in-licensing product candidates in four areas - monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic vaccines, immunocytokines and angiogenesis inhibitors. EMD Pharmaceuticals Inc., the U.S. affiliate of Merck KGaA, is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company with an initial emphasis on launching new products in oncology. Located in Durham, N.C., EMD focuses on meeting patient and physician needs with pioneering pharmaceutical products and services. Biomira is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of innovative therapeutic approaches to cancer management. Biomira's commitment to the treatment of cancer currently focuses on the development of synthetic vaccines and novel strategies for cancer immunotherapy. We are The Cancer Vaccine People(TM). This release may contain forward-looking statements. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, including those predicting the timing and results of clinical trials, availability or adequacy of financing, the sales and marketing of commercial products or the efficacy of products. Although the Company believes that the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the Company's expectations are correct. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.