PAL Equatorial Palm Oil Plc

RNS Number:2670Y
Pall Corporation
2 February 2001


Pall and Viragen Sign Agreement to Recover White Blood Cells from Blood Filters 

       Discarded Leukocytes Are Potential Source for Treating Hepatitis C

East Hills, NY and Plantation, FL (January 31, 2000) - - Pall Corporation (NYSE:
PLL) and Viragen, Inc. (AMEX: VRA) announced they have entered into a
development and licensing agreement to recover white blood cells (leukocytes)
from blood filters. Pall will grant exclusive, worldwide license (except Japan)
to proprietary technology that will enable Viragen to efficiently remove and
recover leukocytes from used leukoreduction filters. The goal is to provide
additional sources of leukocytes for Viragen's production of interferons for
therapeutic use. 

Viragen's lead product, Omniferon(TM), a multi-subtype alpha interferon, is
currently in Phase II clinical trials in Europe for the treatment of hepatitis
C, a disease estimated to afflict tens of millions worldwide. Omniferon(TM) is
derived from white blood cells using Viragen's unique manufacturing technology.
Viragen has white blood cell sourcing agreements with various blood
organizations including the American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers and the
German Red Cross.

Sam Wortham, Medical Division President of Pall Corporation stated, "The
recovery of leukocytes, now essentially a medical waste, and transforming them
into a valuable pharmaceutical holds great promise. We are excited to work with
Viragen as we expand our activities in biotechnology." 

Most blood collected for transfusions is separated into red blood cells,
platelets, and plasma. The remaining component called buffycoat consists of
white blood cells. These cells fight disease and make the immune system function
in the blood donor, but can cause adverse transfusion reactions in the
transfusion recipient. White blood cells are traditionally sourced from
buffycoats. Donor blood can be leukocyte reduced by filtration to remove the
donor's white blood cells and protect the transfusion recipient. 

"Blood centers normally discard blood filters after each use. The potential
access to all filtered white blood cells increases Viragen's capability to
maximize production of Omniferon," said Gerald Smith, Chairman & CEO of Viragen.
"This agreement with Pall may now provide us with additional quantities of white
blood cells especially as leukoreduction continues to grow as the standard for
blood collection agencies."

The agreement with Viragen represents the first license granted by Pall's Cell
Therapy Group. The Group is focused on utilizing Pall's extensive technology
portfolio and expertise in blood filtration and separation to serve such areas
as molecular biology and drug discovery (including DNA and protein detection
procedures), stem cell and cord blood research and other applications in cell
harvesting and purification, adoptive immunotherapies and cytokine production. 


About Pall Corporation
Pall is the leader in the rapidly growing filtration and separations industry.
Pall serves customers throughout the health care and industrial marketplace,
including leading edge products for use in transfusion medicine,
biopharmaceuticals, semiconductors, municipal drinking water, aerospace and a
host of other industries. Pall blood filters are used in all ten countries that
have mandated universal leukocyte reduction and in the 14 countries, including
the U.S., that are moving toward routine blood filtration.

In addition to blood filtration, Pall is involved in extensive research and
development in many other areas of blood safety including co-developing
INACTINETM Pathogen Inactivation Technology with V.I Technologies, currently in
Phase II clinical trials. The INACTINETM Pathogen Inactivation Technology uses
chemistry targeted at nucleic acid to inactivate viruses, bacteria, and other
pathogens in transfusion blood products. Pall has the exclusive marketing rights
to INACTINETM for both red cells and platelets. 

Pall has annual sales of over $1.2 billion. The Company is headquartered in East
Hills, New York and has operations in over 30 countries. 

About Viragen, Inc.
Viragen, Inc. is engaged in the research, development and manufacture of
immunomodulatory therapeutic products including natural human interferon and
human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of various life-threatening and
debilitating diseases such as hepatitis B & C, multiple sclerosis and cancer.

In addition to developing a portfolio of proprietary drug products, Viragen is
engaged in a project to deliver efficient alternatives to the biotech and
pharmaceutical industry for the large-scale production of proteins and
monoclonal antibodies necessary for drug development and their
commercialization. 

Viragen has signed a collaborative agreement with the Roslin Institute, the
internationally renowned center for biotechnology known for their creation of
"Dolly the Sheep." Viragen has been granted a worldwide exclusive license by the
Roslin Institute to their avian (bird) technology to enable Viragen to produce
drugs, including monoclonal antibodies to fight cancer and other
life-threatening diseases, inside the eggs of specially created transgenic
chickens. Vast amounts of novel and powerful drugs are required to treat many
diseases for which there is currently very limited production capacity. Avian
technology will target the production of Viragen's portfolio of anti-cancer
drugs as well as address the needs of the entire biotech and pharmaceutical
industry for large-scale protein and monoclonal antibody production. The
development of avian technology promises a much faster, cost-effective and
virtually unlimited production process marked by the chicken's prolific egg
laying capabilities. 

Viragen's Oncology Project includes collaboration with Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center for the development of a human monoclonal antibody for the
treatment of melanoma and other cancers. Viragen has also been granted a
worldwide exclusive commercial license by the U.K.'s Cancer Research Campaign to
develop a cancer vaccine for the treatment of several indications including
breast, ovarian and colorectal cancers. The U.S. National Institutes of Health
(NIH) have also granted Viragen an exclusive worldwide license for a technology
to treat cervical, breast and lung cancers.

Produced in its Scottish facility, Viragen's lead product, Omniferon, is
currently in Phase II clinical trials in Europe for hepatitis C, a disease
estimated to afflict tens of millions worldwide. Viragen has a collaborative
agreement with the Common Services Agency of the United Kingdom; preferential
access to the white blood cells collected by the German Red Cross and America's
Blood Centers; and a white blood cell agreement with the American Red Cross.
Other Corporate collaborations include agreements with Merck-Biovation,
Cryolife, Inc., Valentis, Inc. and Zonagen, Inc.

The foregoing press release contains forward-looking statements that can be
identified by such terminology such as "expects", "potential", "suggests",
"may", "will", or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance
or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular,
management's expectations regarding future research development results could be
affected by, among other things, uncertainties relating to clinical trials and
product development; unexpected regulatory delays or government regulation
generally; the Company's ability to obtain or maintain patent and other
proprietary intellectual property protection; and competition in general.


Company Contacts: 

Pall Corporation:

Judy Angelbeck, Ph.D. Senior Vice President, Cell Therapy Division
(516) 484 3600 ext. 4066; E-mail: Judy_Angelbeck@pall.com

Diane Foster, Director of Investor Relations
(516) 484-3600 ext. 6109; E-mail: Diane_Foster@pall.com

For additional company information, please visit our web site at
http://www.pall.com.

Viragen, Inc.:

Mel Rothberg, Executive Vice President
Phone: (954) 233-8746 Fax: (954) 233-8743; E-mail: mrothberg@viragen.com 

Douglas Calder, Director of Communications
(954) 233-8746; Fax (954) 233-8743; E-mail: dcalder@viragen.com 

For more information please visit our Web site at www.viragen.com or contact
"Company News On Call" at (800) 758-5804, followed by extension 116574.

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