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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Agreement to Find Cancer
Vaccines
--Pasteur Mérieux Connaught
(Rhone-Poulenc Group),
Therion Biologics to Develop and Market
Vaccines
for Colorectal, Lung Cancers and
Melanoma--
Toronto, Ontario and Cambridge, MA, January 14,
1998 - Pasteur Mérieux Connaught, world
leader in vaccines, and Therion Biologics
Corporation, a leading biotechnology firm, are
joining forces to develop vaccines to treat certain
cancers.
The firms, Pasteur Mérieux Connaught
(Rhone-Poulenc Group), the world's largest vaccine
manufacturer, and Therion Biologics Corporation, a
leader in the development of therapeutic vaccines
for cancer and preventive vaccines for AIDS, are
working on a new way of treating cancers through
vaccines.
The agreement represents one of the first
announcements by Pasteur Mérieux Connaught
under its Canadian-led, new cancer vaccine
initiative and Therion's first major commercial
alliance.
Pasteur Mérieux Connaught's cancer
initiative, launched last year, aims in the long
run to defeat the leading health problem in the
world today - cancer - according to Mark Lievonen,
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Oncology
Business Unit.
"As the term vaccine implies, we propose to enlist
the immune system in the battle against cancer,"
says Lievonen. "We are fortunate to forge this
alliance with such a respected and innovative
partner as Therion Biologics."
Specifics of the Agreement:
The firms have formed a strategic alliance to
develop and commercialize therapeutic vaccines for
the treatment of colorectal and lung cancers and
melanoma, the companies announced today. In
conjunction with the collaboration, the companies
entered into a cross-licensing agreement that
provides Pasteur Mérieux Connaught with
exclusive rights to certain therapeutic cancer
vaccines being developed by Therion, and provides
Therion with access to certain pox virus vector
technologies controlled by Pasteur Mérieux
Connaught and its affiliate, Virogenetics
Corporation, for the development and
commercialization of cancer products. Therion
currently has four therapeutic vaccines for
melanoma, one vaccine for colorectal and lung
cancer, and one vaccine for prostate cancer in
Phase I/II clinical trials in the United
States.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pasteur
Mérieux Connaught will receive exclusive
worldwide rights to commercialize, develop and
manufacture Therion's therapeutic melanoma vaccines
and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-based
therapeutic vaccines. In return for commercial
rights to these products and for the acquisition of
related intellectual property, Therion will receive
up to $25 million in payments from Pasteur
Mérieux Connaught subject to achievement of
all scientific, clinical and regulatory milestones.
Therion also gains access to certain pox virus
vector patents controlled by Pasteur Mérieux
Connaught for Therion's cancer products. As a part
of the agreement, Pasteur Mérieux Connaught
is making an initial equity investment in
Therion.
"Therion Biologics has built a leadership position
in cancer immunotherapy based on its recombinant
pox virus vector technologies and has rapidly moved
its CEA-based and melanoma products through
preclinical and early clinical development in
collaboration with the National Cancer Institute.
These products will form an important component of
our cancer vaccine research program and will
complement the other research and development
activities that we are undertaking as part of our
cancer vaccine program," explained Lievonen.
"Our alliance with Pasteur Mérieux
Connaught, a world leader in vaccines, is a major
endorsement of our cancer immunotherapy strategy
and will accelerate key product development
programs, building on the progress we have made to
date," said Dennis L. Panicali, Ph.D., Therion's
President and Chief Executive Officer. "In
addition, our combined patent portfolios in pox
virus vectors help ensure that we can pursue all of
our therapeutic programs and focus on issues of
development and commercialization." Dr. Panicali
noted that Therion is also developing products for
the treatment of other major cancers, including
breast, prostate and ovarian cancers, and for the
prevention of AIDS.
The Science of the Agreement:
The therapeutic vaccines covered by this agreement
are live recombinant pox virus vectors engineered
to elicit specific immune responses for cancer
immunotherapy and were developed by Therion as a
part of two Cooperative Research and
Development
Agreements (CRADAs) with leading researchers at the
National Cancer Institute. These vaccines have
shown promise in early clinical studies. Phase I
trials have demonstrated that vaccination with
TBC-CEA, Therion's lead colorectal and lung cancer
product, elicits a greatly enhanced and specific
cellular immune response to CEA, a tumor-associated
antigen expressed in the majority of colorectal and
lung cancers. The company's therapeutic vaccines
for melanoma are designed to induce similar potent
immune responses against MART-1 and gp100, antigens
that are present on nearly all melanomas. In
addition, Therion's cancer products have exhibited
strong safety profiles in the more than 200
patients vaccinated to date.
Therion Biologics Corporation is engaged in the
development of therapeutic vaccines for cancer and
preventive vaccines for AIDS. Therion is
headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Pasteur Mérieux Connaught (Rhone-Poulenc
Group) is the world leader in vaccines, with more
than one billion doses sold each year.
Rhone-Poulenc is one of the world's leading life
sciences and specialty chemical companies. Through
its innovative products, Rhone-Poulenc contributes
to the improvement of human, animal and plant
health and to the quality and safety of products
used in daily life.
Pasteur Mérieux Connaught is the new trade
name of Pasteur Mérieux Serums &
Vaccines S.A. (based in Lyon, France) and all its
subsidiaries worldwide, including Connaught
Laboratories, which operates in North America.
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Contacts:
Dennis L. Panicali, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Therion Biologics Corporation
(617) 876-7779
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Kelly Overly, Ph.D.
Manager
Feinstein Kean Healthcare Inc
(617) 577-8110
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Nancy Simpson
Manager of Communications
Pasteur Mérieux Connaught
Canada
(416) 667-2955
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