SPI-Bio to distribute and sell Aterovax's sPLA2 activity test in Europe

Aterovax SA, a company developing innovative products for atherosclerosis, today announced the signing of a 3 year, exclusive agreement with SPI-Bio, a specialist distributor of products and services in drug development, to distribute and sell Aterovax's sPLA2 activity test in Europe to academic and research laboratories for research use. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We believe that SPI-Bio is the ideal partner in Europe for the research applications of our sPLA2 activity test. Not only do they have a strong network and customer base in laboratories conducting inflammation research, SPI-Bio already has experience in the sPLA2 field”

The phospholipases A2 (PLA2) superfamily of enzymes plays a key role in the inflammatory process by generating chemical intermediates. The activity of secretory PLA2 (sPLA2) is closely associated with the rupture of the atherosclerotic plaque and the subsequent risk of cardiovascular events In research, Aterovax's sPLA2 activity test offers considerable promises for investigating cardiovascular and inflammation diseases, screening drug candidates as well as elucidating their mechanism of action.

"While sPLA2 is not a new molecule, it was really interesting to see that it became a new biomarker in the light of the validation work performed by Aterovax. This assay not only perfectly supplements our existing range in the field of metabolic diseases, but also complies with our policy to market fully validated kit in the appropriate biological samples" Said Xavier Morge SPI-Bio Managing Director.

"We believe that SPI-Bio is the ideal partner in Europe for the research applications of our sPLA2 activity test. Not only do they have a strong network and customer base in laboratories conducting inflammation research, SPI-Bio already has experience in the sPLA2 field," noted Dr Dominique Surun, CEO of Aterovax. "This collaboration is the first step in our global strategy of finding the best distribution partners for our sPLA2 activity test. We anticipate signing similar deals in other territories throughout 2010."