Biovest International, Inc. (OTCQB:BVTI), a majority-owned subsidiary of
Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB:ABPI), today announced that
Biovest has formally established its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
comprised of key opinion leaders from prestigious institutions including
the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Abramson Cancer Center at the
University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan Medical School
and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. Dedicated to the advancement of
cancer vaccines, the Biovest SAB represents a group of preeminent
physicians and doctors from the fields of cancer immunotherapy,
immunology, bioinformatics, regulatory affairs and cell culture
bio-manufacturing.
The initial members of the Biovest SAB (listed in alphabetical order)
are:
- Brian D. Athey, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical
Informatics and Chair of the Department of Computational Medicine and
Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan Medical School –
Dr. Athey is recognized as one of the nation’s experts in the field of
Translational Bioinformatics, and has served as a special advisor to
the Chief Information Officer of the U.S. National Institutes of
Health (NIH). He is a founder of ‘tranSMARTproject.org’, an open
source software community that supports one of the leading
pharmaceutical data sharing and analysis software platforms used
worldwide.
- J. David Gangemi, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus,
Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Clemson University – With
his doctorate in virology and biophysics and having formally served as
a Senior Science Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Dr.
Gangemi has been directing Biovest’s hollow fiber perfusion technology
viral bio-manufacturing collaborations with the Naval Health Research
Center and Max Planck Institute.
- Larry W. Kwak, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the
Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma and Associate Director of the Center
for Cancer Immunology Research at the University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center – Internationally recognized for his 20-year
commitment to the science of cancer vaccines, Dr. Kwak developed
Biovest’s BiovaxID® personalized lymphoma cancer vaccine while at the
U.S. National Cancer Institute. In 2010, Dr. Kwak was the first active
MD Anderson faculty member to be named to TIME Magazine’s “TIME 100”
annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for his
contributions to the advancement of cancer vaccines.
- James J. Mulé, Ph.D., Executive Vice President &
Associate Center Director for Translational Research, H. Lee Moffitt
Cancer Center & Research Institute – Dr. Mulé is an
internationally known senior cancer immunologist and gene therapist,
and at Moffitt, holds the Michael McGillicuddy Chair in Melanoma
Research and Treatment. Dr. Mulé is also a special government employee
advising the National Cancer Institute and the FDA-CBER, and is on
several industry and publication advisory boards, having published
over 200 scientific papers in the field of tumor immunology and
immunotherapy.
- Dayton Reardan, Ph.D., R.A.C., Vice President,
Regulatory Affairs, Eleos, Inc. – Dr. Reardan previously held
the position of Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Orphan Medical
Inc., a public drug development and marketing firm (acquired by Jazz
Pharmaceuticals). He has additionally served as Director of
Development at CV Therapeutics and Xoma Corporation, and has twice
received the FDA Commissioner's Special Citation for his work in
developing pharmaceuticals for patients with rare diseases. Dr.
Reardan is directing the global regulatory strategy for BiovaxID.
- Stephen J. Schuster, M.D., Robert and Margarita
Louis-Dreyfus Associate Professor in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and
Lymphoma Clinical Care and Research and Director, Lymphoma Program,
Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania –
Instrumental in the clinical development of BiovaxID and continuing to
advise on new study designs to expand the vaccine’s indications, Dr.
Schuster presented the Phase III study results at the Plenary Session
of the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual
Meeting and at the 2010 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual
Meeting.
“It is with great pride that we announce Biovest’s world class
Scientific Advisory Board, which reflects our commitment to patients and
the depth of our scientific orientation,” stated Samuel S. Duffey,
Biovest’s President & CEO. “As Biovest focuses on regulatory approvals
and ultimate commercialization, the breadth, credentials, experience and
professional recognition represented on our SAB will be highly
important.”
About Biovest International, Inc.
Biovest International, Inc. is an emerging leader in the field of active
personalized immunotherapies. In collaboration with the National Cancer
Institute, Biovest has developed a patient-specific, cancer vaccine,
BiovaxID®, with three clinical trials completed, including a Phase III
study, demonstrating evidence of safety and efficacy for the treatment
of indolent follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Headquartered in Tampa, Florida with its bio-manufacturing facility
based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Biovest is publicly-traded on the
OTCQB™ Market with the stock-ticker symbol “BVTI”, and is a
majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB:
“ABPI”).
For further information, please visit: http://www.biovest.com
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical in nature
constitute "forward-looking statements." Such
statements include, but are not limited to statements about BiovaxID®,
AutovaxID®, events occurring after dates hereof, and any other
statements relating to products, product candidates, product development
programs, the FDA or clinical study process including the commencement,
process, or completion of clinical trials or the regulatory process. Such
statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to
the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other
statements identified by words such as "may," "could," "would,"
"should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends,"
"plans," or similar expressions. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other
factors that may cause the actual results of Biovest to be materially
different from historical results or from any results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors
include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the
progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and product
development programs; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory
approval for product candidates; competition from other pharmaceutical
or biotechnology companies; and the additional risks discussed in
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this
cautionary statement, and Biovest undertakes no obligation to revise or
update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the
date hereof. The product names used in this statement are for
identification purposes only. All trademarks and registered trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.