ImmuCell Enters Into Agreement With AMBI To Develop Antibacterial Products for Animals.Business/Technology Editors PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2000 ImmuCell Corporation (Nasdaq:ICCC ICCC International Council for Caring Communities ICCC International Council for Computer Communication ICCC International Computer Communications Conference ICCC International Carpathian Control Conference ICCC International Conference on Computer Communications ) today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license and license option with AMBI AMBI Associação Médica Brasileira Iridologia Inc. of Purchase, New York Purchase, New York is a hamlet of the town of Harrison, in Westchester County. Its Zip code is 10577. Purchase is home to Purchase College, which is part of the State University of New York system, Manhattanville College, a private liberal arts college, and the headquarters (Nasdaq:AMBI) providing the Company with worldwide rights to develop and market new antibacterial products for animals using AMBI's nisin nisin an antibiotic substance isolated from cultures of lactic acid producing streptococci and reputed to have antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria. and lysostaphin technologies. The first product development target will be the use of nisin as a mastitis mastitis (măstī`tĭs), inflammation of the breast. Mastitis most commonly occurs in nursing mothers between the first and third weeks after childbirth, usually of the first child. treatment in dairy cows. If successfully developed and commercialized, the Company believes that such a product could be the first non-antibiotic mastitis treatment in a market estimated to be worth approximately $20,000,000 per year for lactating cows lactating cows cows in milk; contrast with milking cows. . The treatment of bovine mastitis with a nisin-based product could help address the growing concern of overuse overuse Health care The common use of a particular intervention even when the benefits of the intervention don't justify the potential harm or cost–eg, prescribing antibiotics for a probable viral URI. Cf Misuse, Underuse. of antibiotics in food animals. "Given our growing experience with Wipe Out(TM) Dairy Wipes and our close working relationship with AMBI, we are very excited about the opportunity to develop additional products based on the unique antibacterial properties of nisin and lysostaphin," commented Joseph H. Crabb, Ph.D., vice president and chief scientific officer. AMBI is eligible to receive milestone payments throughout the development process and royalties on any sales. Additionally, AMBI was granted a warrant to purchase 50,000 shares of ImmuCell common stock at the current market price. The Company estimates that it could take approximately three years to commercialize the first product opportunity utilizing this technology. The Company also announced that it has made two key additions to its personnel. In part, to facilitate the incorporation of this new technology into the Company's product development pipeline, Richard T. Coughlin, Ph.D. was recently hired as senior director of research and development. Additionally, in response to the increased demands of marketing its new bovine diagnostic product, Tip-Test:(TM) Johne's (which was approved by the USDA USDA, n.pr See United States Department of Agriculture. in December 1999) and Wipe Out(TM) Dairy Wipes (which was acquired in December 1999), Samuel A. Bond was hired as director of sales and marketing. Dr. Coughlin has begun working on bovine diagnostic and nisin product development programs. He earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics biophysics, application of various methods and principles of physical science to the study of biological problems. In physiological biophysics physical mechanisms have been used to explain such biological processes as the transmission of nerve impulses, the muscle from Michigan State University Michigan State University, at East Lansing; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1855. It opened in 1857 as Michigan Agricultural College, the first state agricultural college. and was most recently employed as senior director of immunology at Aquila Biopharmaceuticals Corporation. Mr. Bond is focused principally on the marketing of the Company's Tip-Test(TM) line of bovine diagnostic products. He earned a BS from the University of Texas and has held various sales and marketing positions for Abbott Laboratories, Idexx Laboratories and Kalisto Biologicals. "We are very excited to have been successful in attracting Rick and Sam to join ImmuCell at this time," commented Michael F. Brigham, president and chief executive officer. "They bring the kind of depth and experience to our management that should allow us to develop additional new products and market them successfully." This press release contains "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to the Company's expectations as to estimates of market sizes and of the time required to develop products and any other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties relating to difficulties or delays in development, testing, regulatory approval, production and marketing of the Company's products, competition within the Company's anticipated product markets, the uncertainty of product development, and other risks detailed from time to time in filings the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Such statements are based on management's current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including those risks and uncertainties mentioned or referred to in this press release. ImmuCell Corporation is a biotechnology company striving to build shareholder value by commercializing proprietary technologies and helping dairy and beef producers and their veterinarians manage disease and reproduction in their herds. In addition, the Company has demonstrated preliminary efficacy in an open label, Phase I/II efficacy study of DiffGAM, a human application of its milk-derived passive antibody technology for use as an alternative to antibiotics in the treatment and/or prevention of Clostridium clostridium Any of the rod-shaped, usually gram-positive bacteria (see gram stain) that make up the genus Clostridium. They are found in soil, water, and the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. Some species grow only in the complete absence of oxygen. difficile-associated diarrhea. ImmuCell is also marketing Crypto-Scan(R), a novel drinking-water test that detects the presence of Cryptosporidium cryptosporidium (krĭp'tōspərĭd`ēəm), genus of protozoans having at least four species; they are waterborne parasites that cause the disease cryptosporidiosis. in drinking-water supplies. ImmuCell Corporation press releases and other information about the Company are available at its corporate web site at http://www.ImmuCell.com. |
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