BIVN Bioenvision (MM)

Bioenvision, Inc. (NasdaqGM:BIVN) today announced it has entered into a licensing arrangement with Foster Corporation to license out exclusive rights to manufacture, market and distribute the Company�s proprietary anti-microbial OLIGON� technology. Under the terms of the license agreement, Bioenvision will have a revenue sharing arrangement on future sublicenses and a royalty on all sales by Foster, a Connecticut-based compounder of biomedical materials. Foster also must comply with annual minimum marketing and research and development expenditures within the first five years of the term of the license. �We are delighted to partner with Foster to expand the potential applications and worldwide marketing reach for OLIGON� said David P. Luci, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Bioenvision. �Foster is a global market leader in the field of medical device technology and this strategic partnership should yield results for both companies while providing us with the opportunity to strategically focus on the continuing growth of our Evoltra� franchise.� Foster Corporation specializes in developing, manufacturing and distributing biomedical materials. Foster Corporation has served as the Company�s manufacturer of the OLIGON� technology for several years and maintains manufacturing expertise with biomedical materials and an extensive customer base. Foster intends to expand the manufacturing, marketing and sales of the OLIGON� technology primarily through its customer base that specializes in minimally invasive tubing fabrication and special catheter prototypes. OLIGON� is an anti-infective technology, based on the antimicrobial properties of silver ions, that has been incorporated into various FDA approved medical devices. The broad spectrum activity of silver ions against bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains, has been known for decades. OLIGON� coatings have application in a wide range of devices and products, including vascular access devices, urology catheters, pulmonary artery catheters and thoracic devices, renal dialysis catheters and orthopedic devices. Other potential application areas include medical fabrics, wound dressings, laparoscopic instruments, as well as many others. �We have worked with Foster in the past and find their innovation and execution strategy to be an excellent fit for Bioenvision,� said Robert Sterling, Vice President, Product Development of Bioenvision. About Bioenvision Bioenvision's primary focus is the acquisition, development and marketing of compounds and technologies for the treatment of cancer. Bioenvision has a broad pipeline of products for the treatment of cancer, including: Evoltra�, Modrenal� (for which Bioenvision has obtained regulatory approval for marketing in the United Kingdom for the treatment of post-menopausal breast cancer following relapse to initial hormone therapy), and other products. Bioenvision is also developing anti-infective technologies, including the OLIGON� technology; an advanced biomaterial that has been incorporated into various FDA approved medical devices and Suvus�, an antimicrobial agent currently in clinical development for refractory chronic hepatitis C infection. For more information on Bioenvision please visit our Web site at www.bioenvision.com. Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because these statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Specifically, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks associated with preclinical and clinical developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general and in Bioenvision's compounds under development in particular; the potential failure of Bioenvision's compounds under development to prove safe and effective for treatment of disease; uncertainties inherent in the early stage of Bioenvision's compounds under development; failure to successfully implement or complete clinical trials; failure to receive marketing clearance from regulatory agencies for our compounds under development; acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, licenses or strategic initiatives that change Bioenvision's business, structure or projections; the development of competing products; uncertainties related to Bioenvision's dependence on third parties and partners; and those risks described in Bioenvision's filings with the SEC. Bioenvision disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.