SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
---------------------------
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
June 21, 1999 (May 19, 1999) Date of
Report (Date of earliest event reported)
AVAX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 000-29222 13-3575874
(State or other jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer
of incorporation) Identification Number)
4520 Main Street
Suite 930
Kansas City, MO 64111
(Address of principal executive offices)
(816) 960-1333
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Page 1 of 5 Pages
Exhibit Index Appears at Page 3
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Item 5. Other Events
The sole purpose of this Form 8-K is to file a press release issued by
AVAX Technologies, Inc. on May 19, 1999 which discussed the Company's
collaboration with the University of Tokyo to perform Phase 1 / 2 trials in
breast cancer.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
Exhibits: 99.6 Press Release dated May 19, 1999.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
AVAX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Date: June 21, 1999
By: /s/ Jeffrey M. Jonas
--------------------------------------------
Name: Jeffrey M. Jonas, M.D.
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
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Exhibit Index
Exhibit Number Description
- -------------- -----------
99.6 Press Release dated May 19, 1999.
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EXHIBIT 99.6
Company Contact: Ernest W. Yankee, Ph.D.
AVAX Technologies, Inc.
(816) 960-1333
Media Contact: David Sassoon/Abenaa Hayes
The Rowland Company
(212) 527-7453
Investor Relations Contact: Sue Yeoh/Olga Fleming
CPR Financial Communications
(201) 641-2408
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AVAX TECHNOLOGIES SIGNS RESEARCH AGREEMENT WITH UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO FOR
AUTOLOGOUS BREAST CANCER VACCINE
- Researchers to Conduct Equivalent of Phase I/II Study
To Extend AC Vaccine(TM) Technology to New Indication -
Kansas City, MO, May 19, 1999 -- AVAX Technologies, Inc. (NASADQ: AVXT) today
announced that it has entered into a collaborative research agreement with the
University of Tokyo to evaluate the application of the company's patented AC
Vaccine(TM) technology to the treatment of breast cancer. As part of the
agreement, AVAX will provide the University with access to its technology in
order to manufacture the vaccine for a clinical trial in Japan. The trial will
be conducted under the direction of Masazumi Eriguchi, M.D., D.M.Sc., Department
of Surgery, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, and will be
supported in part by a grant from the Noguchi Medical Foundation.
"Theoretically, the AC Vaccine technology is applicable to any tumor," said
David Berd, M.D., inventor of the technology and Professor of Medicine at the
Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. "For quite some
time we have been sharing research with colleagues at the University of Tokyo.
This agreement takes our work and mutual excitement to the next level of
commitment."
Breast cancer afflicts more than 800,000 women globally, and more than 300,000
die from the disease each year. In the United States, approximately 180,000
women have some form of breast cancer, and every year more than 43,000 die from
the disease. In Japan, more than 24,000 women have breast cancer, and close to
6,000 die from the disease each year.
"We are looking forward to this strategic collaboration with one of Japan's
premier medical institutions," said Jeffrey M. Jonas, M.D., President and CEO of
AVAX Technologies, Inc. "We are hopeful that the work of Dr. Eriguchi will soon
demonstrate the potential efficacy of our vaccine technology in a third cancer
indication, breast cancer. At the same time, this collaboration will allow us to
establish a presence in a country that will be important for us in the future."
AVAX's AC Vaccine technology is made from a patient's own cancer cells by
modifying the tumor cells with a molecule called a "hapten." This process, known
as "haptenization," alters the tumor cells and makes them appear foreign to the
patient's immune system. When the hapten-modified cells are reinjected into
patients,
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they stimulate the immune system to recognize the cancer cells and destroy them.
AVAX is conducting a pivotal registration trial of the vaccine in malignant
melanoma (M-Vax(TM)) and a Phase I/II trial in ovarian cancer (O-Vax(TM)) in the
U.S. The collaborative research agreement with the University of Tokyo extends
clinical development of the technology to a third indication.
AVAX Technologies, Inc. specializes in the development and commercialization of
novel biotechnologies, immunotherapies and pharmaceuticals for cancer and other
life-threatening diseases using three core technologies: the AC Vaccine
technology, topoisomerase inhibitors and anti-estrogens.
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Except for statements that are historical, the statements in this release are
"forward-looking" statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties,
and in light of the significant uncertainties inherent in such statements, the
inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by AVAX
that the objectives and plans of the company will be achieved; in fact, actual
results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking
statements. Many important factors affect the company's ability to achieve the
stated outcomes and to successfully develop and commercialize its product
candidates, including, among other things, the ability to obtain substantial
additional funds, obtain and maintain all necessary patents or licenses, to
demonstrate the safety and efficacy of product candidates at each state of
development, to meet applicable regulatory standards and receive required
regulatory approvals, to meet obligations and required milestones under its
license agreements, to be capable of producing drug candidates in commercial
quantities at reasonable costs, to compete successfully against other products,
and to market products in a profitable manner, as well as other risks detailed
from time to time in AVAX's public disclosure filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, its Annual Report on Form
10-KSB for the fiscal year ended December 31,1998. AVAX does not undertake any
obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements
or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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