Proteine Performance joins an international consortium of biotech companies.

ST. CHRISTOL LEZ ALES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 1995-- Proteine Performance S.A. ("PP") a company specializing in the expression of humanized monoclonal antibodies in insect cells, has joined the Boston-based biopharmaceutical company, Cystar, Inc. PP has also formed an alliance with Quantum Biotechnologies, a research products company in Laval, Quebec.

This consolidation is one of the first in the biotechnology industry to integrate on an international basis, companies at early stages of development to marshal adequate resources to pursue their drug discovery and drug development programs and rapidly bring their lead compounds into clinical trials.

As part of Cystar, Inc., whose mission is to develop novel immunosuppressants, Proteine Performance will develop its baculovirus expression technology to manufacture therapeutics at commercial levels. Boston Biomedical Science, Inc. ("BBS"), a company formed by several faculty members from Harvard Medical School (Boston, Mass.) which has developed a series of monoclonal antibodies with therapeutic potential and proprietary assay technology, has also become part of this group. PP will maintain its operations and on-going collaboration with its co-founders, Drs. Gerard Devauchelle and Marine Cerutti of the INRA-CNRS research campus in Ales.

The insect cell gene expression technology invented by this group of scientists and developed at Proteine Performance will be marketed as research kits, reagents and services to academic and industrial research laboratories through PP-Kit , a company which was created for the development of products for research use and Quantum, its parent Canadian company.

This reorganization opens a transition period where the R&D programs will be set up on an international basis. Proteine Performance is evaluating its needs in laboratories and manufacturing facilities under these new perspectives. Cystar financing is currently provided by a group of venture capital firms which include Sofinnova and Innolion from Paris, France, Euro Medical Ventures of Luxembourg, Medical Science Partners (Boston, Mass.) and BioCapital (Montreal, Canada). This current run of financing is the first international collaboration of investors for PP.

Mr. Stan Yakatan, president and CEO of Cystar Worldwide, brings to the company 28 years of experience operating biotechnology companies and related businesses. Yakatan has held executive positions at New England Nuclear, DuPont de Nemours, and ICN. He is the former CEO of Biosearch Inc. and the founder and former president president and CEO of Unisyn Technologies. Yakatan has also managed several private placements and conceptualized the development plans and strategies for a number of companies.

Dr. Ronald Guttman, professor of medicine and director of the McGill University Center for Clinical Immunobiology and Transplantation and on the staff of the Royal Victoria Hospital, has joined the Scientific Advisory Board of Cystar. His laboratory at McGill has contributed to the understanding of the cellular basis for immunodeficiency in patients chronically receiving chemical immunosuppression. He has had extensive personal experience with the clinical and commercial development of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies.

Dr. Muriel Brossard, formerly in charge of intellectual property and licensing at Proteine Performance, is currently Director of Business Development for Cystar Worldwide and Quantum. Dr. Brossard holds a Ph.D. in genetics and prior to joining PP she headed the transfer of biotechnology within INRA.

The Company plans to recruit a full time vice president of research and development with drug development experience and an international reputation.

Within Cystar, Proteine Performance has expanded its scientific advisory board to include international experts in immunology, immunogenetics, transplantation, molecular biology and virology.

CONTACT: Cystar Inc.

Dr. Muriel Brossard, 33/66-78-37-37