Press Release Source: Integrated BioPharma, Inc.
Integrated Biopharma Completes Acquisition of Paxis
Pharmaceuticals
http://www.ibiopharma.com/
http://www.supplysideshow.com/east/
NEWS RELEASE for September 23, 2004
INTEGRATED BIOPHARMA COMPLETES HAUSER CRO ACQUISITION
HILLSIDE, NJ (September 23, 2004) …
Integrated BioPharma Inc (Ticker Symbol: INBP), today announced today that its newly-formed subsidiary (InB/Hauser) completed the purchase of substantially all of the assets of Hauser Technical Services, Inc. (dba Hauser CRO), including substantially all of its laboratories, development and manufacturing facilities and equipment; its intellectual property, including that related to Paclitaxel and other taxanes, goodwill, professional staff and certain of its ongoing contracts. As part of the transaction InB/Hauser also acquired Hauser’s rights under a prior contract to receive royalties and other payments from INB’s subsidiary, Paxis Pharmaceuticals (Paxis) for Hauser intellectual property used by Paxis’s in the manufacture of Paclitaxel. Paclitaxel is the first commercial product from Paxis and it was launched earlier this summer.
INB CEO E. Gerald Kay noted “Hauser CRO was the original supplier of Paclitaxel used by Bristol-Myers Squibb for its commercial launch of Taxol more than ten years ago. Our purchase of this business strengthens our presence in the pharmaceutical industry and accelerates our ability to become a significant life sciences company with in-house capability to develop other specialty active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) as well as proprietary technologies for other INB companies and third-party clients. The acquisition supports our previously announced strategic plan to diversify through acquisition of related businesses.”
Eric Friedman, INB CFO, commented, “We saw that Hauser CRO had achieved nearly $7.0 MM in total revenues in 2002, which produced nearly $1.0 MM in operating income. Its performance then fell apparently due to problems of its then parent company. Under the INB umbrella we will provide the financial stability and market presence necessary to support current client activities and convince new and returning clients to again rely on Hauser CRO for the laboratory and chemistry expertise they need. We are encouraged by our early efforts to communicate our plans to all former and potential clients that the Hauser CRO is on solid footing and planning for the future”.
Hauser CRO is a world leader in the extraction, isolation, purification and synthetic modification of natural products from plant, marine and microbial sources. Hauser CRO provides research, process development, analytical services, manufacturing, compliance services and consulting to produce compounds from natural raw materials for the pharmaceutical, dietary supplement and fine chemical industries.
Additionally, Hauser CRO is experienced at making milligram to multi-kilogram quantities of development candidates, natural and synthetic intermediates and API's for pre-clinical R&D, all phases of clinical trials and commercial use. Hauser CROhas a proven track record in assisting clients with problem-solving expertise well beyond the initial drug discovery stage. In addition, Hauser CRO is the world leader in supplying analytical standards of paclitaxel and related taxanes.
About Integrated BioPharma Inc (INB)
INB serves the pharmaceutical, biotech and nutraceutical industries. INB’s biotech subsidiary, NuCycle Therapy, Inc., INB is developing human therapeutics and preventive compounds using a transient gene expression system and transgenic plant technology.
INB’s pharmaceutical subsidiary, Paxis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., develops and operates a state-of-the-art GMP facility for the production and sale of paclitaxel and related drugs.
INB’s nutraceutical subsidiary, Manhattan Drug, develops, manufactures and distributes more than 130 products worldwide. Further information is available at www.iBioPharma.com.
Statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological development, market demand, and the company's ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues in the sponsoring client. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect the company's financial results can be found in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact:
Michael Mason (investors)
Allen & Caron Inc
212 691 8087
Eric Friedman, CFO
Integrated BioPharma Inc
888 319 6962
e.friedman@chemintl.com
Tuesday July 22,
9:18 am ET
HILLSIDE, N.J., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Integrated
BioPharma, Inc. a leading biopharmaceutical
company, today announced the completion of two transactions by
which it acquired 97% of Paxis Pharmaceuticals Inc (Paxis), a
Boulder, Colorado based company organized to manufacture and
distribute cGMP API Paclitaxel, a leading cancer therapy drug. INB
acquired 47% of Paxis in exchange for its 50% interest in Natex
Georgia LLC, a company organized in the Republic of Georgia to
harvest from Georgian government lands organic biomass from which
Paclitaxel is made. INB acquired 50% of Paxis from Trade
Investment Services LLC, which funded Paxis's and Natex's
development. INB expects to acquire the remaining 3% of Paxis
shares this quarter.
INB also announced that Paxis has entered into a letter of intent
with Chatham Biotec Ltd., a Canadian company in the biomass
growing, harvesting and drying business for the creation of a
Canadian based 50:50 joint venture to produce extract and
intermediate precursor Paclitaxel in Canada from Canadian Taxus
trees supplied by Chatham, using Paxis's extraction expertise in
an existing extraction facility currently controlled by Chatham.
Paxis will use the extract material to satisfy its requirements
for finished API paclitaxel production and to produce precursor
material to be sold by the joint venture.
"Through these acquisitions, we will have created a fully
integrated North American capability to supply up to 400 kilos per
year of cGMP Paclitaxel to the world market, supported by an
assured, long term, economical, North American source of quality
organic biomass and precursor Paclitaxel more than adequate to
supply that capacity", said E. Gerald Kay, Chairman of INB. "Since
the activities at Paxis' Boulder facility to meet the latest cGMP
standards are almost completed, Paxis has begun offering precursor
and API Paclitaxel for sale in contemplation of delivery in the
first quarter of calendar 2004."
Last year, Paxis acquired the Boulder facilities and equipment
previously owned and used by Hauser, Inc., to produce eGMP
Paclitaxel for Bristol-Myers Squibb Taxol products. Dr. Dean
Stull, a founder and former CEO of Hauser and now the President of
Paxis, will continue as President and a director of Paxis and will
also become a member of INB's Science Advisory Board.
"I am very pleased that Paxis and INB have come together", said
Dr. Stull. "Now that INB's financial and infrastructure support
have enabled Paxis to create a fully integrated, proprietary,
forest to finished product business fully executable within North
America, I expect Paxis to fulfill its plan to be the principal
supplier of cGMP API and precursor Paclitaxel to the world
market."
Paclitaxel is a naturally occurring chemotherapeutic anti-cancer
agent found in certain species of yew, or Taxus, trees. The
concentration of paclitaxel in yew trees is very small, generally
less than 0.02%, and accordingly the process of extracting taxanes
from yew biomass is complicated and challenging. The manufacturing
process is designed to extract, isolate and purify paclitaxel from
yew biomass leaving behind other components, including non-paclitaxel
taxanes.
About Integrated BioPharma
Integrated BioPharma, Inc., serves the varied needs of the
nutraceutical, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
Through a number of wholly owned subsidiaries INB develops,
manufactures and distributes over 130 products. The Company has
recently upgraded and expanded its manufacturing facilities to
further increase production capacity. A leader for many years in
providing nutritional supplement products and services, INB's
recent acquisitions place it in the rapidly growing field of
genetically engineered human therapeutics. Its lead natural
product pharmaceutical is API paclitaxel, a chemotherapeutic drug
used in the treatment of breast, ovarian and other cancers.
Integrated BioPharma's business base, long-standing industry
reputation and experienced management team should facilitate rapid
and significant growth in the coming years. Integrated BioPharma
currently consists of eight operating units with significant
competitive advantages derived from shared resources, synergies
and economies of scale. Further information is available at
www.iBioPharma.com
Statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological
development, market demand, and the company's ability to obtain
new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to
variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal
issues in the sponsoring client. Further information on potential
factors that could affect the company's financial results can be
found in the company's Reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Source: Integrated BioPharma, Inc.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Patty Wheeler
Paxis Pharmaceuticals (303) 448-9850
Paxis Pharmaceuticals
Launches Paclitaxel Operations
Hauser, Inc. Founder to Lead Paxis Team
BOULDER, CO, September 18, 2002 Û Paxis Pharmaceuticals announced
today that its global operation for the production and sale of
Paclitaxel, one of the worldÌs leading chemotherapy drugs, has
begun.
Paxis Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical start-up company, acquired
key manufacturing assets and licensed the rights to intellectual
property from Hauser, Inc. (OTCBB:HAUS) in May of 2002. They
assumed the lease on HauserÌs Boulder, CO, Paclitaxel
manufacturing facility and equipment that has the capacity to
produce an excess of 200 kilograms of Paclitaxel per year.
ÏOur initial goal is to be the largest supplier of bulk Paclitaxel,Ó
said Paxis Pharmaceuticals President Dr. Dean Stull, Ph.D. ÏWe
have the capital, equipment, know-how, and key expert employees
necessary to make Paxis a strong competitor in this growing
segment of the pharmaceutical market.Ó
In a separate announcement, Dr. Dean Stull, Ph.D., founder of
Hauser Inc., will serve as the Paxis team president as well as
head up all technical and commercial efforts in the United States.
Vasili Patarkalishvili, Paxis Chairman and CEO, is also the CEO of
NatEx, an affiliate of Paxis organized in the Republic of Georgia
to supply Paxis with raw material for Paclitaxel production.
Through this NatEx affiliate, Paxis acquired exclusive harvesting
rights to a significant renewable resource of approximately
100,000 acres of Taxus baccata trees in the former soviet republic
of Georgia. This unique partnership allows Paxis to work closely
with the Georgian Agriculture and Forestry Ministries to minimize
any impact on the forest. They utilize sustainable harvesting
techniques in Georgia by only clipping a limited amount of new
growth per tree. Based on initial forest surveys, Paxis has raw
materials sufficient to manufacture up to 500 kilograms of
Paclitaxel per year when running at full capacity.
Paclitaxel and related compounds (taxanes) are being evaluated in
new cancer drugs, in cardiovascular stents, and for other health
indications that should expand the market for Paclitaxel
considerably. Paclitaxel annual sales are in excess of one billion
dollars. It is estimated that the demand for Paclitaxel and
related compounds could grow by 20 percent annually over the next
10 years.
Paxis Pharmaceuticals is a privately held Delaware corporation
with cGMP manufacturing operations based in Boulder, Colorado.
Their harvesting operations are based in the country of Georgia
through their wholly owned NatEx affiliate. Paxis intends to
manufacture and market the active pharmaceutical ingredient
Paclitaxel and other related compounds found in the Taxus baccata
tree.
Paclitaxel has traditionally been extracted from the bark of the
Yew Tree, Taxus Brevifolia but now comes from a variety of natural
sources, semi-synthetic sources, and even from plant cell
cultures. Paxis derives their Paclitaxel from the needles of the
indigenous Canadian shrub, Taxus Canadensis, this provide a
renewable resource that does not damage the plant.
Paclitaxel is chemotherapy that is given as a treatment for some
types of cancer. It is most commonly used to treat ovarian, breast
and non-small cell lung cancer, and KaposiÌs Sarcoma. Paclitaxel
is also used by physicianÌs for other cancers as well. Paclitaxel
works by inhibiting a cellÌs ability to breakdown the mitotic
spindle during mitosis (cell division). This essentially blocks a
cancer cells ability to grow.
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