SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- IT&E International Group (OTCBB:ITER), announced today that as a result of its excellent performance on several ongoing projects, its long-term, multi-million dollar agreement with VaxGen, Inc. (Pink Sheets:VXGN) has been further expanded.
IT&E, which already acts as one of VaxGen's primary suppliers for validation & compliance services in both the company's lab and manufacturing environments, has been awarded additional long-term contracts to continue its relationship with VaxGen to provide additional services to support the production of 75 million doses of the company's anthrax vaccine for the U. S. Government's Strategic National Stockpile. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this project is part of the U.S. Government's Project BioShield that has called for $5.6 billion in federal funds for the procurement of bio-terrorism countermeasures such as vaccines for smallpox and anthrax and to speed up their availability.
"VaxGen is committed to the highest standards of product quality and full compliance with FDA current Good Manufacturing Practices and standards in all our operations. IT&E has been a valuable resource in implementing and executing these processes. As a result, it is our intention to extend IT&E's contract as our efforts and operations further expand to meet the demand for the modern anthrax vaccine," states James Panek, Sr. VP of Manufacturing Operations, VaxGen, Inc.
In 2003, IT&E signed an agreement to assist VaxGen in completing its validation efforts related to the development and production of a modern anthrax vaccine for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). IT&E has played a very active and important role over the past few years as a primary supplier to VaxGen. Under the terms of the newly expanded agreement, IT&E will now provide services to VaxGen in support of the production of its anthrax vaccine for the Strategic National Stockpile. These services encompass providing support in the areas of validation and compliance in VaxGen's manufacturing facilities, equipment, utilities and analytical systems.
"We are proud that VaxGen has selected IT&E to be a key service provider of theirs for a project that is so vital to our national security. The whole point of the BioShield Project is to enable the government to rapidly acquire and stockpile vaccines and countermeasures to combat the growing threat of bio-terrorism in America. IT&E is confident that its support is helping VaxGen to shorten the time it takes to deploy these extremely important vaccines," says Kelly Alberts, President/COO of IT&E International.
VaxGen's work on the modern anthrax vaccine is part of the federal government's Project BioShield program. Project BioShield is a comprehensive effort to make available modern, effective drugs and vaccines to protect against attack by biological and chemical weapons or other dangerous pathogens.
"In addition to the national security implications for this project, these agreements are also very important for IT&E and its shareholders. Our relationship with VaxGen should generate significant additional revenues for IT&E over the next few years, and is another example of a major biopharmaceutical company relying on IT&E's services," added Peter Sollenne, Chief Executive Officer of IT&E International Group.
About VaxGen
VaxGen Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacture and commercialization of biologic products for the prevention and treatment of human infectious disease. The company is developing preventive vaccines against anthrax and smallpox. VaxGen is currently producing 75 million doses of its anthrax vaccine under an $877.5 million contract from the U.S. government.
About IT&E International
IT&E focuses on providing leading pharmaceutical companies with project-based consulting services in the areas of FDA Regulatory Compliance, data management, biometrics and clinical validation throughout the clinical trials lifecycle. The company, with its talented team of industry veterans with many years of biopharma experience, utilizes the latest tools and procedures to help its clients move quickly and effectively through the FDA approval process. Its services range from providing patients for drug trials, skilled personnel for trials, enterprise software and training to manage data and ensure FDA compliance and validation of new pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities to biostatistics support and analysis, audits, contract research services, data entry and verification services and providing total clinical solutions that take companies completely through Phase IV clinical trials. The company's pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare and other life science client list includes such well-known companies as Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Amgen (Nasdaq:AMGN), Aventis Pasteur (NYSE:AVE), Baxter Pharmaceutical (NYSE:BAX), Bayer (NYSE:BAY), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Chiron (Nasdaq:CHIR), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Genentech (NYSE:DNA), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Novartis (NYSE:NVS), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Purdue Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP), VaxGen (Pink Sheets:VXGN), and Wyeth Global (NYSE:WYE).
Included in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.