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Avexa and Novasep Today Announce Signing of Manufacturing Agreement for ATC
PRNewswire POMPEY, France February 15

Avexa (ASX:AVX) and Novasep today announced the signing of a manufacturing agreement for the production of apricitabine (ATC), Avexa's novel nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) which is in clinical development for the treatment of HIV infection. The agreement covers the continued production, process optimisation, and further scale-up of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of ATC based upon the Varicol(R) continuous chromatography system for use in Phase III clinical trials and in preparation for the commercial launch of the product.

POMPEY, France, February 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Avexa (ASX:AVX) and Novasep today announced the signing of a manufacturing agreement for the production of apricitabine (ATC), Avexa's novel nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) which is in clinical development for the treatment of HIV infection. The agreement covers the continued production, process optimisation, and further scale-up of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of ATC based upon the Varicol(R) continuous chromatography system for use in Phase III clinical trials and in preparation for the commercial launch of the product.

"Novasep is a well established company with extensive experience in the chemical processes required for ATC production," said Dr Julian Chick, CEO of Avexa. "We are delighted to be working with Novasep on the production and supply of ATC API for our Phase III programme. The signing of this agreement signals yet another step forward in the progression of apricitabine towards the market."

Avexa is a Melbourne-based biotechnology company with a focus on research and development of drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases, in particular diseases which have a significant unmet medical need. Avexa has dedicated resources and funding for key projects including antiviral drugs for HIV/Aids and an antibiotic alternative for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The Company's lead programme is apricitabine which is currently in Phase IIb clinical trials. Recruitment for Phase IIb was completed at the end of 2006 and the results are due in the first quarter of 2007.


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