Newswise — BioVeris Corporation of Gaithersburg, Md, has announced that it has exercised its option to enter into an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with the University of Massachusetts Amherst for patent rights to a proprietary vaccine candidate for Chlamydia, the most frequently reported infectious disease in the United States. Under the agreement, the company has licensed exclusive rights to commercialize products for possible use in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all chlamydial infections, including the disease, Chlamydia, caused by the bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis.
BioVeris will pay a $75,000 license issue fee, milestone fees including for initiating and completing human clinical trials and securing regulatory approvals, patent costs, and royalties on product sales, including a minimum annual royalty of $40,000 commencing in 2007.
In May 2005, the company and UMass Amherst entered into a separate sponsored research agreement with the UMass Carbohydrate Based Vaccine (CBV) Group, composed of faculty members Lloyd Semprevivo, Elizabeth Stuart and Wilmore Webley under which the company is sponsoring up to $600,000 of research through 2006 aimed at developing a vaccine. The vaccine under investigation utilizes a pan-genus antigen that could be effective in preventing infections caused by most or all species of Chlamydia. Semprevivo is a faculty member in veterinary and animal sciences. Stuart and Webley hold positions in microbiology.
UMass Amherst is a leading national research university, recording more than $112 million annually in sponsored research activity. The campus has over 1,100 faculty, 65 departments, and 70 research centers, with more than 200 technology cases under management. Michael Jaremchuk, associate director of licensing and ventures, noted that the UMass-BioVeris partnership provides an outstanding example of the university's capabilities. "We are very adept at providing solutions and developing technologies applicable to many industries," he said. UMass Amherst is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, which was ranked 11th nationally by the Association of University Technology Managers for technology licensing income of more than $26 million in 2004. Visit www.amherst.cvip-umass.net for additional information.
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chlamydia is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the U.S., with estimates of nearly 3 million cases annually, resulting in a total health care cost, estimated by the Institute of Medicine, of more than $2 billion.
Although antibiotic therapy is available, Chlamydia is a "silent" disease, showing no symptoms in three quarters of infected women and half of infected men. If left untreated in women, 40 percent of the infections will cause pelvic inflammatory disease with permanent damage, resulting in chronic pain, infertility and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy. Infected pregnant women may transmit the infection to the eyes and respiratory tracts of their newborn, resulting in pneumonia and conjunctivitis. It has been estimated that by age 30, half of all sexually active women have been infected. Screening is recommended annually for all sexually active women under 26 years of age, as well as older women with certain risk factors, and all pregnant women.
There is no vaccine currently available to protect against Chlamydia. The UMass Amherst vaccine technology is expected to cover all chlamydial infections, including those caused by Chlamydia psittaci, which often results in pneumonia and endocarditis in humans, and Chlamydia pneumoniae, which is responsible for some pneumonia, bronchitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, and sinusitis. In addition, C. pneumoniae infections have been implicated by some investigators to be associated with atherosclerotic vascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, asthma, and reactive arthritis. The future market for worldwide sales of Chlamydia vaccines has been estimated by industry analysts to exceed $1 billion annually.
BioVeris Corp. is an integrated health care company developing proprietary technologies in diagnostics and vaccinology. More information can be found at www.bioveris.com.
Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that relate to future events or BioVeris' future performance. All statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including any statements about the agreements with UMass Amherst, market size and growth, and the utility or effectiveness of Chlamydia vaccines are identified as "forward-looking statements."
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