BOXMEER, The Netherlands, September 26 /PRNewswire/ --     A consortium of experts in the field of human virus research and vaccine
development have joined forces to develop a novel pandemic influenza vaccine
as a potential emergency vaccination. The four-year project has been awarded
a grant of EUR3.5 million from the European Union to help fund the research
and the development of the new vaccine. The so-called FluVac project will be
coordinated by Nobilon International BV which is part of Organon, the human
healthcare business unit of Akzo Nobel.

The recent epidemic of a new pathogenic strain of H5N1 influenza in birds
in Asia has fuelled further concerns about a potential pandemic influenza
outbreak. In the event of an influenza pandemic, large quantities of a highly
effective vaccine will be needed on short notice. A European consortium
consisting of Nobilon International BV (the Netherlands), Protherics PLC
(United Kingdom), Retroscreen Virology Ltd (United Kingdom), Erasmus Medical
Centre (the Netherlands) and Landspitali University Hospital (Iceland) has
agreed to collaborate on the development of such a vaccine. The collaboration
takes advantage of complementary expertise and technology of these renowned
parties.

Non-clinical studies with a novel H5N1 vaccine developed by Nobilon and
containing CoVaccine HT(TM), a powerful adjuvant from Protherics, have
produced encouraging results to date. This has resulted in the successful
application of an EU grant to develop this promising vaccine through
proof-of-concept in phase I and II clinical trials. Upon successful
achievement of proof-of-concept, the consortium intends to pursue further
clinical development.

Dr. Luuk Hilgers, scientific coordinator for the project on behalf of
Nobilon, stated: "In the event of an influenza pandemic, vaccination will
play a key role in its control. Therefore, availability of a sufficient
number of vaccine doses will be critical. In this project, we will exploit
the potency of the adjuvant to potentiate immunity and to reduce the antigen
dose required per vaccination."

About Nobilon

Nobilon International BV, part of Organon, a biopharmaceutical business
unit of Akzo Nobel, was founded in 2003. It has production and R&D facilities
in Boxmeer and Oss, the Netherlands. The biotechnology company is dedicated
to develop, produce and market human vaccines against infectious diseases,
building on existing expertise within sister companies Intervet and Organon.
Nobilon focuses on respiratory and traveler's diseases. One of its core
expertises is large scale cell culture production of viruses, including
influenza. Nobilon currently employs approximately 75 staff in production and
R&D. http://www.nobilon.com

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