Biovector Therapeutics Appoints Paul Von Hoegen to VP of Research & Development.

TOULOUSE, France--(BW HealthWire)--Oct 29, 1999--

Biovector Therapeutics SA, a private company focused on drug delivery systems targeting modern vaccines and gene delivery, today announced the appointment of Paul von Hoegen as the Company's Vice President of Research & Development, effective immediately.

Dr. von Hoegen holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics and Immunology. Dr. von Hoegen has over 16 years of experience in the field of basic research, which include immunology, molecular biology, gene therapy, animal models and cancer. Before joining Biovector Therapeutics, he was the Head of Cellular and Cancer Immunology and R&D Immunology at SmithKline Beecham Biologicals for over three years. Prior to this, he was in charge of a research group at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany that focused on the "Gene Therapy of Tumors". In addition, he was recently re-elected as section head for the tumor immunology department at the German Cancer Society.

In commenting on Dr. von Hoegen's appointment, Dr Emile Loria, President & Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Paul von Hoegen's background and credentials in research and development and his years of experience in bringing products through the development stage, is important to Biovector Therapeutics. We are fortunate to have him join our team and to continue our focus on infectious diseases and cancer vaccines."

Biovector Therapeutics is a development-stage company that develops and manufactures drug delivery systems to improve the acceptance, delivery and efficacy of modern vaccines and other therapeutic agents. The company's Biovector technology prolongs the effects of therapeutic products, holds patent-extension opportunities for pharmaceuticals and offers a more convenient form of administering drugs. The company mainly focuses on the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer by a curative or prophylactic immunotherapy approach. Biovector Therapeutics concentrates its efforts in the development of modern vaccines taking into account all the components for an efficient immune response. In the field of gene therapy, the company dedicates its efforts to the delivery of DNA encoding for antigenic proteins in vaccine applications and blood circulating proteins in case of deficiency.

Statements made in this release may contain forward-looking statements. Various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements, including those predicting regulatory processes, the amounts of future payments expected under the collaborative agreement and timing and results of clinical trials. Although the Company believes that the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the Company's expectations are correct. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statement.