Capital investment to be used in part for cancer vaccine development.

2003 NOV 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biovest International announced the completion of $5 million of capital investment under its April 10, 2003, investment agreement with Accentia, Inc., a Hopkins Capital Group portfolio company.

The recently received capital represents the initial tranche of a multi-year, $20 million investment commitment.

Biovest, which is designated the National Cell Culture Center by the National Institutes of Health, is utilizing a portion of this investment to expand its core businesses of contract biologic production and the manufacture and sale of proprietary cell culture production equipment.

Additionally, a portion of the invested capital is being used to support ongoing clinical trials of its tumor specific therapeutic cancer vaccine being developed to potentially empower the patient's own immune system to effectively fight non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In cooperation with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Biovest therapeutic cancer vaccine is currently in a pivotal phase III clinical trial for low-grade follicular B-cell lymphoma. Biovest believes that an autologous tumor-specific antigen produced from each patient's tumor may offer potential advantages in cancer treatment.

Clinical studies to date, including long-term (median follow-up of greater than 7 years) follow-up of phase II patients suggests that the vaccine is non-toxic, a supplement to induction chemotherapy, highly targeted, and results in tumor-specific immune responses in 90% of patients. Moreover, initial vaccination, without any boosters in subsequent years, results in unprecedented tumor-free survival of approximately 50% and overall survival of 80% at 7 years.

Stephane Allard, MD the president and CEO of ...