Neovacs and Stellar Biotechnologies Announce Launch of Neostell, Joint Venture to Manufacture Kinoids
July 19 2016 - 2:15AM
NEOVACS (Alternext Paris:ALNEV)
and
STELLAR BIOTECHNOLOGIES Inc. (Nasdaq:SBOT) today announced
the start of their joint venture company, Neostell SAS, with the
holding of its first general assembly. At the meeting, the
bylaws for Neostell were approved and the Administrative Board and
management team were appointed.
The following executives were appointed to the
Administrative Board: Bernard Fanget, (Vice President
Pharmaceutical Development, Neovacs); Frank Oakes (CEO, Stellar
Biotechnologies) and Miguel Sieler (CEO, Neovacs).
In addition, the management team will include
Bernard Fanget as Chairman of the Board of Directors and President
and Olivier Dhellin as CEO. Both also will remain in their
current positions at Neovacs.
Mr Fanget and Mr Dhellin’s experiences in the
pharmaceutical industry are essential assets to oversee and ensure
the efficient launch of the joint venture production company. Their
first mission at Neostell will consist of identifying and reserve
trough an option agreement a site for the manufacturing facility.
However, major investment in the joint venture will not occur until
after the results of the Neovacs ongoing Phase IIb trial with IFNa
Kinoid in the treatment of lupus are known.
Neostell, with initial capital of 400,000 euros,
will be based in the Paris area and set up to manufacture all
kinoids developed by Neovacs, starting with IFNα-Kinoid, the
company’s most advanced product candidate. Neostell also plans to
manufacture and sell other KLH-based immunotherapy products for
third-party customers worldwide.
Bernard Fanget, Chairman and President of Neostell,
said: «The Neostell corporation will first focus on the production
scale-up of Neovacs’ IFNα-Kinoid immunotherapy in anticipation of a
Korean market launch, as well as the planned Phase III trial for
the treatment of lupus and the Phase IIa study in dermatomyositis.
My objectives as president are to make Neostell operational, to
effectively access the conjugated vaccines development market and
to ultimately make Neostell a profitable business. »
“This joint venture demonstrates Stellar’s
commitment to ensuring that immunotherapy developers like Neovacs
have both ample capacity of high-quality KLH as well as the
infrastructure and expertise to manufacture their KLH-based
immunotherapies as they advance to market,” said Frank
Oakes, President, CEO and Chairman of Stellar Biotechnologies,
Inc. “With the Neostell corporation in place and its
leadership appointed, we look forward to putting operational teams
together to map out the next steps for this growth initiative.”
About Bernard Fanget, Chairman of
Neostell: Bernard leads pharmaceutical development
activities at Neovacs. He brings more than 30 years of industrial
experience in biologics pharmaceutical development. Bernard was
Corporate Vice President, Global Industrialization at Sanofi
Pasteur. He was previously Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical
Development of Flamel Technologies.
About Olivier Dhellin, CEO of
Neostell: Olivier has 9 years of experience in
immunotherapy development and cell-based vaccine manufacturing. He
previously held positions at Anosys – a US/French cell therapy
biotech company – and conducted research activities for 7 years at
Gustave Roussy Institute (molecular biology and genomics) and
Pasteur Institute, where he was a post-doctorate fellow in
molecular pharmacology. Prior to that, he spent 4 years as a
resident in several hospital departments (pediatrics, pharmacology
and biochemistry). Olivier holds a degree in pharmacy (Paris XI
University, France) and a PhD in virology (Pierre et Marie Curie
University, France).
About Stellar Biotechnologies,
Inc.
Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:SBOT) is the
leader in sustainable manufacture of Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin
(KLH), an important immune-stimulating protein used in wide-ranging
therapeutic and diagnostic markets. KLH is both an active
pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in many new immunotherapies
(targeting cancer, immune disorders, Alzheimer's and inflammatory
diseases) as well as a finished product for measuring immune
status. Stellar Biotechnologies is unique in its proprietary
methods, facilities, and KLH technology. We are committed to
meeting the growing demand for commercial-scale supplies of GMP
grade KLH, ensuring environmentally sound KLH production, and
developing KLH-based active immunotherapies.
About Neovacs
Neovacs is a leading biotechnology company that has
a proprietary active immunotherapy technology platform (Kinoids)
with applications in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and
cancer. The goal of the Kinoid approach is to enable patients to
have access to safe, effective, long-lasting treatments for these
often life-long diseases. Neovacs is focusing its clinical
development efforts on IFNα-Kinoid, an immunotherapy being
developed for lupus and dermatomyositis. Neovacs also has several
therapeutic vaccines in preclinical development for the treatment
of autoimmune diseases, cancer and allergies. www.neovacs.fr
Contacts
NEOVACS – Corporate Communication & Investor Relations
Charlène Masson
+33 (0)1 53 10 93 14
cmasson@neovacs.com
Investor Relations / Financial Communications Germany – MC Services
Raimund Gabriel
+49-89-21-02-28-30
raimund.gabriel@mc-services.eu
Press / U.S. Inquiries – The Ruth Group
Lee Roth / Joseph Green
+1-646-536-7012 / 7013
lroth@theruthgroup.com / jgreen@theruthgroup.com
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