bingo and jackpot

ASX/Media Release
Monday 11th May 2009
PRIMA BIOMED TO COMMENCE DISCUSSIONS WITH POTENTIAL NORTH
AMERICAN INVESTMENT PARTNERS
Australian health care company Prima BioMed (Prima) (ASX: PRR) is pleased to
announce that it will commence discussions with potential major North American
institutional investment funds later this month for the development of its core product,
the CVac™ ovarian cancer therapy vaccine.
On the back of the continued strong progress towards the commercialisation of
CVac™, the Company has received significant interest from a number of major
institutional investment groups, and Prima’s executive director, Mr Martin Rogers, will
begin discussions in North America with a number of hedge funds and other biotechfocused
investment funds on new investment and partnering opportunities for the
comercialisation of CVac™.
After recently securing a $12 million funding facility, the Company is now in a position
to approach global investment markets with confidence, to secure further significant
investment in its market leading ovarian cancer treatment and expand
commercialisation opportunities.
Mr Rogers will also meet with the Company’s key medical advisers in the US, Dr
Joyce Frey-Vasconcells and Dr Heidi Gray, to progress Prima’s Investigational New
Drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its plans
for the Phase IIB/III Pivotal Trial. The granting of Investigational New Drug status is a
pre-requisite for all new drug applications seeking FDA approval for
commercialisation, and is one of the final milestones to be completed by Prima in the
commercialisation process for CVac™.
Dr Frey-Vasconcells is the former US FDA Director of Cell and Gene Therapy and is
managing the Company’s regulatory submission process for CVac™ IND, and Mr
Rogers will meet with her in Washington DC. In addition, he will also meet with world
leading Gynecological Oncologist Dr Gray, who is the Company’s lead clinical
investigator, to finalise plans for CVac™’s Phase IIb/III Pivotal Trial at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Centre in Seattle.
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre will host the US section of Pivotal Trial, which is
due commence mid-year.
Prima is making rapid progress towards commercialising CVac™ into the global
multi-billion oncology pharmacy market. CVac™ is a therapy treatment for ovarian
cancer administered post-surgery and post-chemotherapy to delay relapse and
control metastases. There is a large un-met medical need for new treatments for
ovarian cancer which has a very high morbidity rate, and currently there are no
maintenance-based therapy products commercially available.
Prima BioMed Ltd, Suite 1, 1233 High Street, Armadale, VIC Australia 3143
Ph: +61 (0)3 9824 5254 Fax: + 61 (0)3 9822 7735
www.primabiomed.com.au
ABN 90 009 237 889
For further information please contact:
Martin Rogers James Moses
Executive Director Investor and Media Relations
Prima BioMed Mandate Corporate
Ph: 0428 268 357 Ph: 0420 991 574
E: [email protected] E: [email protected]
Website: www.primabiomed.com.au
About Prima BioMed
Prima BioMed is an ASX listed Australian health care company. The Company is
focused on technologies in the fields of cancer immunotherapy and immunology.
Prima’s lead product is the CVac™ ovarian cancer therapy treatment. It has
completed two successful clinical trials and is in the final stages of US FDA approval
and eventual commercialisation.
The Company’s broader, long term goal is to develop commercial cancer treatment
technologies and programs for global markets.