Bioenvision, Inc. (NasdaqGM:BIVN) today announced it has entered
into a licensing arrangement with Foster Corporation to license out
exclusive rights to manufacture, market and distribute the Company's
proprietary anti-microbial OLIGON(R) technology. Under the terms of
the license agreement, Bioenvision will have a revenue sharing
arrangement on future sublicenses and a royalty on all sales by
Foster, a Connecticut-based compounder of biomedical materials. Foster
also must comply with annual minimum marketing and research and
development expenditures within the first five years of the term of
the license.
"We are delighted to partner with Foster to expand the potential
applications and worldwide marketing reach for OLIGON(R) said David P.
Luci, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Bioenvision.
"Foster is a global market leader in the field of medical device
technology and this strategic partnership should yield results for
both companies while providing us with the opportunity to
strategically focus on the continuing growth of our Evoltra(R)
franchise."
Foster Corporation specializes in developing, manufacturing and
distributing biomedical materials. Foster Corporation has served as
the Company's manufacturer of the OLIGON(R) technology for several
years and maintains manufacturing expertise with biomedical materials
and an extensive customer base. Foster intends to expand the
manufacturing, marketing and sales of the OLIGON(R) technology
primarily through its customer base that specializes in minimally
invasive tubing fabrication and special catheter prototypes.
OLIGON(R) is an anti-infective technology, based on the
antimicrobial properties of silver ions, that has been incorporated
into various FDA approved medical devices. The broad spectrum activity
of silver ions against bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant
strains, has been known for decades. OLIGON(R) coatings have
application in a wide range of devices and products, including
vascular access devices, urology catheters, pulmonary artery catheters
and thoracic devices, renal dialysis catheters and orthopedic devices.
Other potential application areas include medical fabrics, wound
dressings, laparoscopic instruments, as well as many others.
"We have worked with Foster in the past and find their innovation
and execution strategy to be an excellent fit for Bioenvision," said
Robert Sterling, Vice President, Product Development of Bioenvision.
About Bioenvision
Bioenvision's primary focus is the acquisition, development and
marketing of compounds and technologies for the treatment of cancer.
Bioenvision has a broad pipeline of products for the treatment of
cancer, including: Evoltra(R), Modrenal(R) (for which Bioenvision has
obtained regulatory approval for marketing in the United Kingdom for
the treatment of post-menopausal breast cancer following relapse to
initial hormone therapy), and other products. Bioenvision is also
developing anti-infective technologies, including the OLIGON(R)
technology; an advanced biomaterial that has been incorporated into
various FDA approved medical devices and Suvus(R), an antimicrobial
agent currently in clinical development for refractory chronic
hepatitis C infection. For more information on Bioenvision please
visit our Web site at www.bioenvision.com.
Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking"
statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because these statements include risks
and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Specifically,
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to: risks associated with preclinical and clinical
developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general and in
Bioenvision's compounds under development in particular; the potential
failure of Bioenvision's compounds under development to prove safe and
effective for treatment of disease; uncertainties inherent in the
early stage of Bioenvision's compounds under development; failure to
successfully implement or complete clinical trials; failure to receive
marketing clearance from regulatory agencies for our compounds under
development; acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, licenses or
strategic initiatives that change Bioenvision's business, structure or
projections; the development of competing products; uncertainties
related to Bioenvision's dependence on third parties and partners; and
those risks described in Bioenvision's filings with the SEC.
Bioenvision disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking
statements.
