TAMPA, Fla. & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Biovest International, Inc. (OTCQB:BVTI), a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB:ABPI), today announced that Biovest has formally established its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) comprised of key opinion leaders from prestigious institutions including the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan Medical School and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. Dedicated to the advancement of cancer vaccines, the Biovest SAB represents a group of preeminent physicians and doctors from the fields of cancer immunotherapy, immunology, bioinformatics, regulatory affairs and cell culture bio-manufacturing.
The initial members of the Biovest SAB (listed in alphabetical order) are:
- Brian D. Athey, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Chair of the Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan Medical School – Dr. Athey is recognized as one of the nation’s experts in the field of Translational Bioinformatics, and has served as a special advisor to the Chief Information Officer of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is a founder of ‘tranSMARTproject.org’, an open source software community that supports one of the leading pharmaceutical data sharing and analysis software platforms used worldwide.
- J. David Gangemi, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Clemson University – With his doctorate in virology and biophysics and having formally served as a Senior Science Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Dr. Gangemi has been directing Biovest’s hollow fiber perfusion technology viral bio-manufacturing collaborations with the Naval Health Research Center and Max Planck Institute.
- Larry W. Kwak, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma and Associate Director of the Center for Cancer Immunology Research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center – Internationally recognized for his 20-year commitment to the science of cancer vaccines, Dr. Kwak developed Biovest’s BiovaxID® personalized lymphoma cancer vaccine while at the U.S. National Cancer Institute. In 2010, Dr. Kwak was the first active MD Anderson faculty member to be named to TIME Magazine’s “TIME 100” annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for his contributions to the advancement of cancer vaccines.
- James J. Mulé, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Associate Center Director for Translational Research, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute – Dr. Mulé is an internationally known senior cancer immunologist and gene therapist, and at Moffitt, holds the Michael McGillicuddy Chair in Melanoma Research and Treatment. Dr. Mulé is also a special government employee advising the National Cancer Institute and the FDA-CBER, and is on several industry and publication advisory boards, having published over 200 scientific papers in the field of tumor immunology and immunotherapy.
- Dayton Reardan, Ph.D., R.A.C., Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Eleos, Inc. – Dr. Reardan previously held the position of Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Orphan Medical Inc., a public drug development and marketing firm (acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals). He has additionally served as Director of Development at CV Therapeutics and Xoma Corporation, and has twice received the FDA Commissioner's Special Citation for his work in developing pharmaceuticals for patients with rare diseases. Dr. Reardan is directing the global regulatory strategy for BiovaxID.
- Stephen J. Schuster, M.D., Robert and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus Associate Professor in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Lymphoma Clinical Care and Research and Director, Lymphoma Program, Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania – Instrumental in the clinical development of BiovaxID and continuing to advise on new study designs to expand the vaccine’s indications, Dr. Schuster presented the Phase III study results at the Plenary Session of the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and at the 2010 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.
“It is with great pride that we announce Biovest’s world class Scientific Advisory Board, which reflects our commitment to patients and the depth of our scientific orientation,” stated Samuel S. Duffey, Biovest’s President & CEO. “As Biovest focuses on regulatory approvals and ultimate commercialization, the breadth, credentials, experience and professional recognition represented on our SAB will be highly important.”
About Biovest International, Inc.
Biovest International, Inc. is an emerging leader in the field of active personalized immunotherapies. In collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, Biovest has developed a patient-specific, cancer vaccine, BiovaxID®, with three clinical trials completed, including a Phase III study, demonstrating evidence of safety and efficacy for the treatment of indolent follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Headquartered in Tampa, Florida with its bio-manufacturing facility based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Biovest is publicly-traded on the OTCQB™ Market with the stock-ticker symbol “BVTI”, and is a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: “ABPI”).
For further information, please visit: http://www.biovest.com
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements." Such statements include, but are not limited to statements about BiovaxID®, AutovaxID®, events occurring after dates hereof, and any other statements relating to products, product candidates, product development programs, the FDA or clinical study process including the commencement, process, or completion of clinical trials or the regulatory process. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other statements identified by words such as "may," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results of Biovest to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and product development programs; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approval for product candidates; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; and the additional risks discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and Biovest undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. The product names used in this statement are for identification purposes only. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.