Active Biotech gets international order for cholera vaccine after recommendation from WHO

Active Biotech gets international order for cholera vaccine after recommendation from WHO Active Biotech's subsidiary SBL Vaccin has received its first big international order for its oral vaccine against cholera. The world health organisation, WHO, has established that the cholera vaccine of SBL is the only vaccine on the market with a documented high efficiency. The customer is the public health authority of Madagascar. The vaccine will be delivered in batches with the first batch delivered in July. The value of the order amounts to approx. 16 MSEK. Additional orders for cholera vaccine are expected later this autumn according to the authority's judgement. Cholera epidemic on Madagascar The public health authority of Madagascar needs the vaccine against the cholera epidemic that broke out earlier this year. The cholera has already spread to areas outside the capital Antananarivo. It is feared that around 200 people have died. Currently vaccination is carried out primarily on doctors and other hospital staff. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world with a population of approximately 15 million. WHO recommends SBLns cholera vaccine The world health organisation, WHO, has established that the Cholera vaccine SBL is the only vaccine on the market with a documented high efficiency. For the first time WHO has also expressed a recommendation for preventive cholera vaccination in the areas of the world with high risk of cholera. Cholera vaccine SBL is orally taken, which considerably facilitates a fast distribution to a large number of people in areas threatened by a cholera epidemic. Cholera vaccine SBL is the only existing cholera vaccine that has gone through field studies, among other things in Bangladesh with a total of 90 000 persons participating. The vaccine consists of the rCTB component and four strains of inactivated cholera bacteria. SBL Vaccin produces the rCTB component and the final vaccine in its production facilities in Solna and Matfors, Sweden. The same technology as the coming ETEC vaccine Active Biotech, together with its partner SmithKline Beecham, is currently performing phase III studies of its ETEC vaccine in Kenya and Guatemala/Mexico. The clinical trials are in the final stage. The ETEC vaccine is based on the same rCTB component as the cholera vaccine but with five inactivated strains of the E.coli bacteria Active Biotech AB (publ) Sven Andréasson President and C.E.O. Active Biotech AB is a Swedish biotechnology group focused on the research and development of pharmaceuticals and vaccines. Our core competence is knowledge of the human immune defence system. We have an extensive project portfolio and considerable financial resources. The turnover of Active Biotech was SEK 259 million in 1998. In Lund and Solna (Sweden) and Cambridge (UK) a total of 185 researchers are developing vaccines against tourist diarrhoea (ETEC), cholera, polio and streptococcal infections as well as innovative drugs against multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, asthma etc. Active Biotech AB (publ) registered number 556223-9227 PO Box 724, SE-220 07 Lund, Tel +46 46-19 20 00, E-mail info@activebiotech.com Home page: www.activebiotech.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/03/19990803BIT00090/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/08/03/19990803BIT00090/bit0002.pdf