Benz Mining Corp. press release
Biomira exercises rights in Prima BioMed Ltd.
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EDMONTON, July 19 /CNW/ - Biomira Inc. (Nasdaq:BIOM) (TSX:BRA) announced today that it has exercised its put option to acquire an equity position in Prima BioMed Ltd. (ASX: PRR) ("Prima"), an Australian biotech company. In March 2004, Biomira announced a technology licensing and commercial agreement with CancerVac, a subsidiary of Prima, acquiring a 10 per cent equity stake in CancerVac. Biomira had the right to convert this stake to shares in Prima, which it has now exercised. In 2004, Biomira announced a commercial agreement for the development and commercialization of a cancer vaccine belonging to CancerVac. Biomira provided CancerVac with access to its licensed, exclusive worldwide rights to the MUC1 protein for use in CancerVac's Mannan-MUC1 fusion protein therapeutic vaccine. CancerVac initiated a Phase IIa trial in patients with metastatic ovarian cancer in the second quarter of 2004. "Prima Biomed has a diverse portfolio of products, including the Mannan- MUC1 fusion protein technology. This development agreement and equity stake in Prima underline the variety of ways in which we are seeking to maximize the potential of our MUC1 technology, and we look forward to results from the Phase IIa clinical trial expected later this year," said Alex McPherson, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Biomira.
Biomira Inc. 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).
Prima BioMed Ltd. Prima Biomed is a biotechnology company based in Melbourne, Australia and is developing technologies in the fields of immunology and cancer immunotherapy originating from the Austin Research Institute in Melbourne.
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 potential of the new CancerVac product candidate or the importance of our equity position in the parent company. .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.