TUSTIN, Calif., Sept 21, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- Avid Bioservices, Inc., a leading provider of cGMP contract manufacturing of biologics and other key services, and Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing, today announced that the two companies have entered into a global strategic production alliance agreement. Under the terms of the non-exclusive agreement, Avid will become an approved member of Boehringer Ingelheim's global Production Alliance Network PAN Biologics(TM).

"With its location on the West Coast of the U.S. and a reputation for quality and innovation, Avid Bioservices is well positioned to play an important role as a strategic partner in our global Production Alliance Network," said Professor Dr. Rolf G. Werner, senior vice president of Boehringer Ingelheim's Corporate Division Biopharmaceuticals. "The Network complements our worldwide strategic manufacturing capabilities with strong regional partners providing process development and clinical supply manufacturing capacity and expertise. We believe this partnership benefits both our partners and our customers, and we look forward to working with the Avid team."

The Production Alliance Network program is set up to provide the partners' customers with a broader range of contract services. The integrated concept offers access to Boehringer Ingelheim's high expression BI HEX(R) technology, Avid's proven competence and flexibility in process development and cGMP manufacturing along with preferred access to Boehringer Ingelheim's large-scale commercial manufacturing facilities. Compatible technology platforms at Avid Bioservices and Boehringer Ingelheim support a flexible approach and will facilitate seamless technology transfers throughout the development, scale-up, clinical and commercial scale production phases.

"With this agreement, Avid joins an elite group of Boehringer Ingelheim strategic biologics manufacturing partners located in biotech clusters around the world," said Christopher Eso, vice president of business operations of Avid Bioservices. "This agreement represents an important element of Avid's overall growth strategy and is a testament to the quality of services the Avid team provides to its clients. We expect it will extend both companies' customer offerings by capitalizing on the distinctive capabilities of each."

Mr. Eso continued, "In fiscal year 2009, Avid increased its production capacity and booked record revenues as a result of a substantial increase in demand for our services. We now look forward to additional growth of our client base through our new relationship with Boehringer Ingelheim."

"We believe this selection as the sole U.S. West Coast biologics manufacturer in Boehringer Ingelheim's global Network reflects Avid's cGMP production capabilities, our outstanding inspection and regulatory history, our proven capacity to produce clinical grade material and our excellent industry reputation," said Richard Richieri, senior vice president of bioprocess development and manufacturing at Avid Bioservices. "We expect this partnership to shorten the product development time for our customers while providing them access to proprietary high yield production technology and the option of a smooth transfer to Boehringer Ingelheim for their larger scale production needs."

Avid Bioservices is a wholly owned subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM).

About Avid Bioservices

Avid Bioservices provides a comprehensive range of cGMP manufacturing services for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. Avid manufactures cGMP commercial product, as well as clinical supplies for all phases of clinical trials. The company's comprehensive range of cGMP services includes cell banking, stability testing, clinical product manufacturing and purification, bulk packaging, final product filling and regulatory support. Avid also provides a variety of process development activities, including cell line optimization, analytical method development and product characterization. The company has over 10 years of manufacturing experience producing monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins in batch, fed-batch and perfusion modes. For more information about Avid, visit www.avidbio.com.

About Boehringer Ingelheim

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 138 affiliates in 47 countries and 41,300 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the independent, family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine. Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the leading companies for industrial customer manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals by offering the entire production technology chain in development and production at its biopharmaceutical facilities in Biberach (Germany) and in Vienna (Austria). The large-scale manufacturing sites deliver biopharmaceutical products like therapeutic proteins, fusion proteins, protein scaffolds, monoclonal antibodies, antibody fragments and plasmid DNA. The Biberach site is specialized in highly efficient mammalian cell culture systems with yields well above industry standard in animal component free media. The Austria site offers high-expression in bacteria and yeast with exceptionally high productivities using proprietary systems. In the plasmid DNA manufacturing arena Boehringer Ingelheim in Austria has set the standard and supplies early to late-stage clinical trials with gene-therapeutics and DNA vaccines for its international clients. For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/biopharm.

About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative monoclonal antibodies in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer and serious viral infections. The company is pursuing three separate clinical programs in cancer and hepatitis C virus infection with its lead product candidates bavituximab and Cotara((R)). Peregrine also has in-house manufacturing capabilities through its wholly owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc., that provides development and biomanufacturing services for both Peregrine and outside customers. Additional information about Peregrine can be found at www.peregrineinc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release which are not purely historical, including statements regarding Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially or otherwise adversely impact the company's ability to obtain regulatory approval for its product candidates include, but are not limited to, uncertainties associated with completing preclinical and clinical trials for our technologies; the early stage of product development; the significant costs to develop our products as all of our products are currently in development, preclinical studies or clinical trials; obtaining additional financing to support our operations and the development of our products; obtaining regulatory approval for our technologies; anticipated timing of regulatory filings and the potential success in gaining regulatory approval and complying with governmental regulations applicable to our business. Our business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in the company's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2009 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2009. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. disclaims any obligation, and does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release.

    Contacts:
    Avid Bioservices                      Media
    Chris Eso                             GendeLLIndheim BioCom Partners
    Vice President, Business Operations   Barbara Lindheim
    (714) 508-6190                        (212) 918-4650

SOURCE Avid Bioservices, Inc.

http://www.avidbio.com/

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