In Brief: Immune Response

Executive Summary

Immune Response: Regains "all manufacturing, marketing and distribution rights" for the "Salk" HIV immunotherapeutic vaccine from former joint venture partner Rhone-Poulenc Rorer. A total of $55 mil. was committed to the development program under the 50/50 joint venture, Immunization Products Ltd. Under the negotiated settlement, RPR "will not provide additional funds" and will receive residual royalties of up to $3 mil. should the product be marketed. The settlement follows 1994 arbitration proceeding under which Immune Response regained control of regulatory submissions and clinical trials. Immune Response says it will be actively looking for a pharmaceutical marketing partner. An FDA advisory committee recently gave the go-ahead recommendation for Phase III trials of the vaccine based primarily on safety data ("The Pink Sheet" Jan. 30, p. 3)...