Avivagen Announces Distribution Agreement for Vivamune™ in Vietnam


OTTAWA, Oct. 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avivagen Inc. (TSXV:VIV) (“Avivagen”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a distribution agreement for Vivamune™ Health Chews in the Vietnamese market with Viphavet Co. Ltd. This agreement reflects new interest in the Vivamune™ Health Chews product and opens up a new territory for Avivagen sales.

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Viphavet Co. Ltd. is well known throughout Vietnam as a distributor for vaccines, pharmaceuticals and veterinary equipment for all species (poultry, pigs, ruminants, pets and aquaculture).  Viphavet Co. Ltd. has agreed to undertake the registration and trademark process of Vivamune™ Health Chews within Vietnam, which is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year. Upon completion, Viphavet Co. Ltd. will be granted exclusivity for Vivamune™ Health Chews for one year which may be extended based on reaching specific volume targets.

It is estimated that within the Southeast Asian market, which includes Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Vietnam, the pet care market is expected to witness significant growth over the next several years, registering a robust growth of nearly 6.8% by 2020.i

Avivagen intends to accelerate market access and the commercial uptake of its Vivamune™ Health Chews as well as its OxC-beta™ Livestock product and intends to pursue market uptake initiatives in Vietnam for its OxC-beta™ Livestock product in the near-term.

About Vivamune™ Health Chews (Vivamune)
Vivamune is an all-in-one chew that can dramatically simplify a pet’s supplement routine. Featuring a newly-discovered, novel immune-supporting active ingredient, OxC-beta™, Vivamune targets joints, skin and digestive health all in a single, tasty chew a pet will love. Vivamune is available for sale in the United States. For more information, visit www.vivamunehealth.com.

About Avivagen
Avivagen is a life sciences corporation focused on developing and commercializing products for livestock, companion animal and human applications that, by safely supporting immune function, promote general health and performance.  It is a public corporation traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol VIV and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, based in partnership facilities of the National Research Council of Canada and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. For more information, visit www.avivagen.com. The contents of the website are expressly not incorporated by reference in this press release.

About OxC-beta™ Technology and OxC-beta™ Livestock
Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ technology is derived from Avivagen discoveries about carotenoids, compounds that give certain fruits and vegetables their bright colours, and is a non-antibiotic means of maintaining optimal health and growth. OxC-beta™ Livestock is a proprietary product shown to be effective and economic in replacing the antibiotics commonly added to livestock feeds. OxC-beta™ Livestock is currently registered and available for sale in the Philippines, Taiwan, New Zealand and Thailand.

Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ Livestock product is safe, effective and could fulfill the global mandate to remove all in-feed antibiotics as growth promoters. Numerous international livestock trials with poultry and swine using OxC-beta™ Livestock have proven that the product performs as well as, and, sometimes, in some aspects, better than in-feed antibiotics.

Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon the current expectations of management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties associated with the business of Avivagen Inc. and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions “aim”, “anticipate”, “appear”, “believe”, “consider”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “if”, “intend”, “goal”, “hope”, “likely”, “may”, “plan”, “possibly”, “potentially”, “pursue”, “seem”, “should”, “whether”, “will”, “would” and similar expressions. Statements set out in this news release relating to the agreement with Viphavet, the potential and timing for registration to be granted in Vietnam, the potential for sales in Viet Nam, expected growth in the  Southeast Asian pet care market,  , Avivagen’s intention to accelerate market access and the commercial uptake of its Vivamune and OxC-beta™ product, the size of market opportunities and the potential for OxC-beta™ to fulfil the global mandate to remove all in-feed antibiotics as growth promoters are all forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. For instance, Avivagen’s partner Viphavet is under no obligation to  purchase the product from Avivagen, Avivagen’s products may not receive registration or gain acceptance within the Vietnamese market, Avivagen’s products may not gain market acceptance or regulatory approval in new jurisdictions or for new applications, new market access may not occur in the timeline or manner expected by Avivagen and the market opportunities may not be as large as Avivagen anticipates due to many factors, many of which are outside of Avivagen’s control.   Except as required by law, Avivagen assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

Information as to market size if various jurisdictions is sourced by Avivagen from third parties.  While Avivagen believes such third-party sources to be reliable, it has not independently verified such information and readers should not place undue weight on such information. 

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information:
Avivagen Inc.
Drew Basek
Director of Investor Relations
100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
Phone: 416-540-0733
E-mail: d.basek@avivagen.com

Kym Anthony
Chairman & Interim CEO
100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
Head Office Phone: 613-949-8164
Website: www.avivagen.com

Copyright © 2018 Avivagen Inc. OxC-beta™ is a trademark of Avivagen Inc.

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