(Taiwan) Amarillo Biosciences signs license and supply agreement with CytoPharm for low dose interferon for use in animals :: BiotechEast - Taiwan and China biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, ^¤å½s×, ^¤å×§ï ::

(BiotechEast staff)

26 March, 2008
US-based Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. announced yesterday that it had entered into a license and supply agreement with Taiwan's CytoPharm, Inc.

Under the terms of the agreement, CytoPharm will conduct animal clinical trials for swine, poultry and cattle, and seek regulatory approval for Amarillo Biosciences' low dose oral interferon product for use in animal diseases in Taiwan and China. CytoPharm has already commenced clinical studies where low doses of interferon are given orally to treat or prevent swine diseases. According to the agreement, CytoPharm will make payments to Amarillo Biosciences upon reaching certain milestones and will also pay royalties on sales in the territory.

CytoPharm is a subsidiary of Vita Genomics, Inc., Taiwan's largest specialty CRO (clinical research organization) specializing in pharmacogenomics. Vita is headed by Dr. Ellson Chen, previously principle scientist at US biotech powerhouse Celera Genomics, the first to decode the human genome in 2001. Chen is also chairman of CytoPharm.

"With the fast growing economies and vastly improving animal health care systems in both China and Taiwan, producers' demands for newer and better drugs have become much stronger," reported Chen. "Blue Ear Disease, a highly infectious disease that has swept the Chinese swine population and driven up pork prices in China, is a major disease in the region, and governments are spending billions of dollars and committing vast economic resources to deal with this deadly disease. This agreement with Amarillo Biosciences demonstrates CytoPharm's commitment to assist in improving the health and well-being of China's and Taiwan's animal populations."

Dr. Joseph M. Cummins, president and CEO of Amarillo Biosciences, said, "This agreement is of major significance to ABI because our low dose oral interferon will be tested in diseases which annually impact livestock worldwide."

Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. is an Amarillo, Texas-headquartered biotechnology firm with its primary focus being R&D into the use of low dose, orally administered interferon as a treatment for a variety of conditions, including Sjogren's syndrome, Behcet's disease, and opportunistic infections in patients who are HIV positive.

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