Tampa, FL-based Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, has filed a proposed reorganization plan to help it emerge from Chapter 11 protection this summer as a fully restructured company.
The plan is expected to support the regulatory advancement of the autoimmune disease therapy, Revimmune, a drug regimen designed to "reboot" the immune system to potentially eliminate multiple sclerosis and significantly reduce disability, the company says in a statement.
"Our foremost priority in emerging from Chapter 11 is to devote our resources towards the advancement of Revimmune, which offers the unprecedented potential to change the way multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases are treated," says Accentia President Samuel Duffey. "Revimmune has been shown to eliminate the peripheral immune cells, including the cells perpetuating the autoimmunity, as opposed to current standard of care treatments that only delay disease progression."
Accentia holds a majority ownership stake in Biovest International, which, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, has developed a patient-specific cancer vaccine, BiovaxID. The vaccine has demonstrated statistically significant Phase III clinical benefit in follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by prolonging disease-free survival in patients treated with BiovaxID as compared with a control group. Based on positive Phase II and Phase III results, Biovest is currently preparing to seek U.S. and international approvals.
- see the Accentia release
- read the St. Louis Business Journal report