Avaxia Biologics, Inc. to present Key Pre-Clinical Inflammatory Bowel Disease Remission Data at Biotech Showcase 2011

Avaxia Biologics, Inc. to present Key Pre-Clinical Inflammatory Bowel Disease Remission Data at Biotech Showcase 2011

Wayland, MA (January 5, 2011) - Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a privately-held biotech company developing an innovative platform technology to deliver orally-active antibodies to the gastrointestinal tract, announced today that it has generated compelling pre-clinical data in animal models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Avaxia’s orally administered anti-TNF product AVX-470 significantly reduced disease severity in three different animal models and showed superior efficacy to an oral steroid drug in a comparative test of disease remission. Dr. Barbara Fox, founder and Chief Executive Officer, will present these data at the 2011 Biotech Showcase, being held on January 10-12, 2011 in San Francisco, California.

Dr. Fox’s presentation will take place at 3:15 PM on Wednesday January 12 at the Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco Hotel. The presentation will include positive efficacy data from three animal models of IBD, including statistically significant efficacy in a remission model of the disease. Dr. Fox’s presentation will also include efficacy data from an experiment that compared AVX-470 to an oral steroid in a DSS-induced colitis model of IBD. Dr. Fox commented that, “We believe these consistent and statistically significant results in the standard animal models of IBD indicate that our orally administered anti-TNF product has the potential to become a leading therapy for inflammatory bowel disease, a chronic and debilitating disease of over a million and a half North Americans and four million people worldwide. We are also heartened to observe that our product has shown superior efficacy to an oral steroid drug in a comparative test of disease remission. With these impressive results, and with the support of our scientific advisors, Avaxia plans to enter into clinical trials with AVX-470 in patients with IBD this year. AVX-470 appears to be on track to be the first orally-active anti-TNF antibody for IBD.”

About Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Inflammatory bowel diseases incur significant personal and societal costs. For example, the primary symptoms of both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are abdominal pain, diarrhea and bleeding. These diseases typically present at a young age, and most patients require lifelong therapy. Chronic drug therapy, hospitalization, and surgery are common and are associated with significant morbidity. Approximately 1 million people in the U.S. suffer from these diseases, with the prevalence equally divided between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. A study carried out in the early 1990s estimated the direct and indirect economic burden of $1.8 - $2.6 billion per year.

About Avaxia Biologics, Inc.: Avaxia Biologics (www.avaxiabiologics.com) is an early stage company developing orally-delivered antibody therapeutics. The antibodies are designed to treat both diseases of the GI tract and systemic diseases where the disease targets are accessible in the GI tract. Using its proprietary antibody platform, Avaxia is developing products for inflammatory bowel disease, oral mucositis, celiac disease, and diabetes and obesity.


Contact: Dr. Barbara Fox
Avaxia Biologics, Inc.
26 Pemberton Road
Wayland, MA 01778
bfox@avaxiabiologics.com
Ph: 1-508-259-5929