TUSTIN, Calif., Feb. 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avid Bioservices, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHM) (NASDAQ:PPHMP), today announced that the company will attend and participate at two upcoming life sciences industry conferences.  From February 27 through March 2, 2017, the company will host a corporate booth in the exhibit hall at KNect365 Life Sciences' BioProcess International West conference, in addition to co-sponsoring the conference's exhibit hall opening night reception. On March 14, 2017, David Briggs, Ph.D., a scientist in Avid's process sciences department, will discuss the expanding role of pre-packed columns in biopharmaceutical manufacturing as part of a case study presented during the Driving Bioprocessing Efficiency seminar.

Details of these activities are as follows:

KNect365 Life Sciences' BioProcess International West: February 27 - March 2, 2017, San Francisco, CA

Besides serving as a co-sponsor of the conference's exhibit hall opening night reception, Avid will host corporate booth #816 showcasing the company's comprehensive range of process development and high quality cGMP clinical and commercial manufacturing services for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries.  These include a variety of innovative processes for generating a broad range of biopharmaceutical product types such as monoclonal antibodies, highly-glycosylated recombinant proteins and enzymes, among others.  These capabilities also extend to the manufacture of biosimilar products as well as antibody drug conjugate intermediates and are designed to support the overall ongoing growth of the company's contract manufacturing business.

Company representatives will provide a virtual tour of its 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art commercial biomanufacturing facility (Myford facility) for those interested.  The Myford facility is designed to utilize the most cutting-edge, single-use equipment to accommodate a fully disposable biomanufacturing process for late Phase III clinical and commercial production of biologics.  The facility is capable of operating in campaign mode whereby multiple bioreactors are simultaneously in operation, which increases the facility's manufacturing capacity and efficiency.  The Myford facility, which was commissioned in 2016, was built to augment Avid's Franklin facility, which has been in operation since 1993 and producing cGMP commercial products since 2005.

Driving Bioprocessing Efficiency Seminar: March 14, 2017, Carlsbad, CA

Dr. Briggs will present a case study profiling the use of proprietary pre-packed columns in a cGMP environment and the impact of this technology on reducing set-up and process time, as well as capital and validation expense.  This case study will include an overview of Avid's Myford facility and provide data demonstrating the positive impact of pre-packed columns in a multi-product manufacturing setting.  The content of this case study further showcases Avid's utilization of the industry's most advanced products and technologies in its manufacturing facilities.

For additional details on these events, please visit: https://lifesciences.knect365.com/bpi-west/ and www.repligen.com/sandiego2017.

About Avid Bioservices
Avid Bioservices provides a comprehensive range of process development, high quality cGMP clinical and commercial manufacturing services for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries. With over 15 years of experience producing monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins in batch, fed-batch and perfusion modes, Avid's services include cGMP clinical and commercial product manufacturing, purification, bulk packaging, stability testing and regulatory strategy, submission and support. The company also provides a variety of process development activities, including cell line development and optimization, cell culture and feed optimization, analytical methods development and product characterization. For more information about Avid, please visit www.avidbio.com.

About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving the lives of patients by delivering high quality pharmaceutical products through its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services and through advancing and licensing its investigational immunotherapy and related products.  Peregrine's in-house CDMO services, including cGMP manufacturing and development capabilities, are provided through its wholly-owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc. (www.avidbio.com), which provides development and biomanufacturing services for both Peregrine and third-party customers.  The company is also working to evaluate its lead immunotherapy candidate, bavituximab, in combination with immune stimulating therapies for the treatment of various cancers, and developing its proprietary exosome technology for the detection and monitoring of cancer.  For more information, please visit www.peregrineinc.com.

Contacts:

Kelly Pisarev Lord

Avid Bioservices, Inc.

(800) 987-8256



Stephanie Diaz (Investors)

Vida Strategic Partners

415-675-7401

sdiaz@vidasp.com



Tim Brons (Media)

Vida Strategic Partners

415-675-7402

tbrons@vidasp.com

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