Jennerex and Green Cross Enter Agreement to Develop and Commercialize JX-594 In South Korea
AGREEMENT ADVANCES JENNEREX PRODUCT JX-594 DEVELOPMENT FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER
San Francisco, California/Ottawa, Canada - October 17, 2006 -
Jennerex Biotherapeutics today announced an agreement with Green Cross Corp.,
South Korea for the development and commercialization in Korea of JX-594, an
oncolytic vaccinia virus for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (liver
cancer) as the initial indication.
Under the terms of this agreement, Green Cross will fund all development,
regulatory, manufacturing and commercialization activities in South Korea
for JX-594 and will pay Jennerex a royalty on commercial sales in South Korea.
As part of the agreement, Jennerex is responsible for the clinical supply of
JX-594 and Green Cross will have options to manufacture JX-594 to the South
Korean market.
"We are delighted to have Green Cross as our partner to pursue development of
JX-594 in South Korea. With their strong commitment to this program and their
extensive experience with vaccines and biologics, Green Cross is an ideal partner
for the development and commercialization of JX-594 in Korea," said David H. Kirn,
MD, CEO of Jennerex. "This partnership is a strong validation of our oncolytic
virus product platform and our clinical trial results to date with JX-594.
The results of these studies in South Korea will be very important for our global
development and commercialization strategies for JX-594."
About JX-594
JX-594 is an oncolytic virus, a new class of cancer therapeutics that utilizes a
novel mechanism of action which is expected to be effective against cancers
resistant to conventional surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. JX-594 is a
vaccinia virus that has been engineered to infect, multiply in and kill cancer
cells while leaving neighboring healthy cells unharmed. In addition to direct
killing of cancer cells by viral replication, JX-594 expresses a transgene GM-CSF
which stimulates the immune system to recognize and destroy the cancer cells,
thereby, attacking tumors through multiple mechanisms of action. The results of a
Phase I study for treatment of metastatic melanoma showed good tolerability and
evidence of anti-tumor effects. A further Phase I study is currently underway in
South Korea for treatment of liver cancer and a Phase II study is planned for the
treatment of melanoma.
About Jennerex
Jennerex is a clinical stage company focused on creation and development of oncolytic
virotherapeutics, a new treatment product class to prolong the lives of cancer patients.
Jennerex therapeutic oncolytic ("onco", cancer; "lytic", cell destruction) viruses
preferentially replicate in and kill cancer cells without harming the surrounding
normal cells by targeting pathways that are critical to the vast majority of human
cancers (e.g. lung, colon, prostate, breast, pancreas, etc.). Jennerex current clinical
product candidates are recombinant vaccinia viruses, with the lead product, JX-594, in
a Phase I/II study to treat liver cancer or metastatic cancer to the liver. Two
additional products (JX-963 and JX-929) are scheduled to enter Phase I studies in Q4
2006 and Q1 2007, respectively. Jennerex also has an extensive research program to
generate new clinical candidates. For more information about Jennerex, please visit
www.jennerex.com.
About Green Cross Corporation
Green Cross is a leader in the Korean biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
With the belief that research and development is essential, Green Cross is fully
committed to the development of new medicines, annually reinvesting about 7% of
the company's total sales revenue back into R&D;, one of the largest commitments by
a pharmaceutical company in South Korea. Green Cross will become the only seasonal
influenza vaccine manufacturer in South Korea and also is developing avian
influenza vaccine. Green Cross uses its productive discovery engine to develop
important therapeutics, including one of the earliest vaccines against hepatitis B
(Hepavax). Through agreements with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, Hepavax
is available in 60 countries, making it the most widely used hepatitis B vaccine in
the world. The use of Hepavax is, in fact, responsible for a 50% drop in the rate of
infection in South Korea. Additionally, Green Cross has successfully developed the
first Epidemic Hemorrhagic Fever vaccine, the world's second chicken pox vaccine and
Korea's first AIDS diagnostic reagent. Building on its strong tradition, Green Cross
is dedicated to developing therapeutics to improve the lives of patients worldwide.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events
and are based on assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Given
these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future
performance, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. Some of the factors that could affect the forward-looking statements
contained herein include, not being able to enroll the required number of subjects
in planned clinical trials and that such clinical trials are not successfully
completed, not receiving the required regulatory clearances from the FDA or the KFDA,
not being able to generate positive results from clinical studies, our licensee not
being able to continue future development of JX-594, not being able to receive
royalty payments from Green Cross or any other benefit from the agreement with
Green Cross, and that we may not have sufficient cash to continue funding the
development or manufacture of our products.
Contact:
Jennerex Biotherapeutics, ULC
Helena Chaye
VP, Business Development
Office: 415-281-8886 ext 829
Mobile: 415-420-9284
Email: [email protected]
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