Biotech
companies Stellar Biotechnologies and Biovest International have signed a
definitive supply agreement to establish the terms for the production and
supply of Stellar KLH™ to Biovest for use as an active component in BiovaxID®
active immunotherapy for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
KLH
(Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin) is an immune-stimulating protein commonly used as a
carrier molecule in active immunotherapy drugs in development for certain
cancers and other diseases. The supply agreement will meet Biovest’s
requirements for Stellar’s KLH products for use in its BiovaxID® immunotherapy
vaccine in commercial distribution as well as for future clinical trials.
“Stellar’s
key growth initiative is to leverage our Stellar KLH™ technology into multiple
clinical pathways and the BiovaxID® program is a good example of the value of
our core business for this purpose,” Frank Oakes, president and chief executive
officer of Stellar Biotechnologies, stated in the news release. “There are many
new KLH-based immunotherapies advancing in clinical trials and we are
positioning Stellar to be the leading company capable of delivering the
scalable, sustainable supplies of KLH that will be needed by these
pharmaceutical pipelines.”
Per
the agreement, Stellar will deliver its KLH products to Biovest in accordance
with the cGMP standards that are required for Biovest’s ongoing development and
as an anticipated commercial supply. Biovest has agreed to purchase Stellar
KLH™ at forecasted quantities and prices. In addition to the supply agreement’s
initial three-year term, Biovest may renew the agreement for additional
one-year periods.
The
supply agreement provides for Stellar and Biovest to consummate a separate
quality agreement, within three months, to list the quality aspects and
procedures relating to manufacture and release of the cGMP-compliant Stellar
KLH™. Biovest will appoint Stellar as the exclusive supplier of KLH in
connection with the potential future commercialization of BiovaxID®, subject to
negotiation and execution of commercial production and supply terms.
“We
are pleased to collaborate with Stellar Biotechnologies to continue the
clinical progress of our active immunotherapy (BiovaxID) and are proud to work
with Stellar in anticipation of our future commercial success. BiovaxID
immunotherapy has demonstrated ability in long-running clinical trials to
elicit potent anti-tumor immune responses and extend remission duration in
patients suffering from follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. If approved, we
anticipate that this product will offer an innovative adjuvant/consolidation
vaccine strategy for patients with this disease,” said Carlos Santos, Biovest
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Santos.
For
more information visit: www.stellarbiotech.com
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