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EXHIBIT 99.4
Company Contact: Ernest W. Yankee, Ph.D.
AVAX Technologies, Inc.
(816) 960-1333
Investors/Media: Olga Fleming/Lisa Bradlow
CPR Financial Communications
(201) 641-2408
AVAX INITIATES A PHASE 1/2 STUDY OF L-VAX-TM- IN ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA
- STUDY AT M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER EXTENDS APPLICATION OF THE
AC VACCINE-TM- TECHNOLOGY TO FOURTH CANCER INDICATION -
KANSAS CITY, MO, MAY 15, 2000 -- AVAX TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (NASDAQ: AVXT) today
announced that it has initiated a Phase 1/2 study of L-Vax-TM-, its autologous
therapeutic cancer vaccine for leukemia, in patients with acute myelogenous
leukemia (AML), a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood affecting immature
cells of the bone marrow. The L-Vax vaccine will be prepared from blood samples
of the patients obtained after their first relapse. Patients in second remission
will receive seven weekly L-Vax vaccinations followed by a six-month booster.
The purpose of the study will be to evaluate L-Vax's ability to induce an immune
response against the patients' leukemia cells and to prevent or delay another
relapse. Approximately 40 patients will participate in the study. As with all
applications of the AC Vaccine technology, the L-Vax vaccine will be an
individualized therapy for cancer manufactured at AVAX's centralized
manufacturing facility.
The Phase 1/2 trial is being directed by Guillermo Garcia-Manero M.D., Assistant
Professor of Medicine, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in
collaboration with David Berd, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson
University, the inventor of the AC Vaccine-TM- technology. Over 10,000 new cases
of acute myelogenous leukemia are diagnosed annually in the U.S. Currently, the
only therapy available to patients is intensive chemotherapy, sometimes with
bone marrow transplant. Patients who achieve a remission after chemotherapy have
a high rate of relapse (50-80%). Following relapse, few patients achieve another
remission even with further chemotherapy.
Jeffrey M. Jonas, M.D., President and CEO of AVAX Technologies, Inc., stated,
"We are very pleased to be working with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to begin
evaluating the AC Vaccine technology in a fourth tumor type, AML. This study
further demonstrates that not only are we able to manufacture an autologous
vaccine from solid tumors, but also from tumor cells in blood. Results from this
study will enhance ongoing activities in our other studies in melanoma, ovarian
and breast cancers, and further support additional new studies in other cancer
indications."
AVAX's AC Vaccines are made from the 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 injected into
patients, they stimulate the immune system to recognize the cancer cells and
destroy them. The company's lead product candidate, M-Vax-TM-, is currently
being evaluated in a multi-center pivotal registration for stage III melanoma
and in a Phase 2 trial for stage IV melanoma. To date, more than 350 patients
have been treated with M-Vax, which has received orphan drug status in the U.S.
M-Vax is expected to become commercially available to patients in Australia by
mid-2000. The AC Vaccine technology is also being evaluated in a Phase 2 trial
in ovarian cancer and in Japan for use in the treatment of breast cancer.
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: autologous cell (AC)
vaccines, topoisomerase inhibitors and anti-estrogens.
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"FORWARD-LOOKING" STATEMENTS THAT ARE MADE PURSUANT TO THE SAFE HARBOR
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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 DEVELOP SUCCESSFULLY
AND COMMERCIALIZE ITS PRODUCT CANDIDATES, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO OBTAIN AND
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OF PRODUCING DRUG CANDIDATES IN COMMERCIAL QUANTITIES AT REASONABLE COSTS, TO
COMPETE SUCCESSFULLY AGAINST OTHER PRODUCTS, TO OBTAIN SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL
FUNDS, 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 ITS ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-KSB
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31,1999. AVAX DOES NOT UNDERTAKE ANY OBLIGATION TO
RELEASE PUBLICLY ANY REVISIONS TO THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS OR TO REFLECT
THE OCCURRENCE OF UNANTICIPATED EVENTS.
