Avivagen Announces CEO Update

OTTAWA, ON / ACCESSWIRE / Apr 16 2015 / Avivagen Inc. (TSX VENTURE:VIV, PINKSHEETS:CHEXF), a life sciences company that develops and delivers products that support and enhance the health of livestock, pets and people, announces the release and website posting of a letter from its CEO providing updates about the company and its business plans. In addition to reading the letter, we encourage you to visit the Avivagen website at www.avivagen.com to learn more.

Dear Shareholders,

It is my pleasure to provide a further update on the progress of our Company. I believe we have achieved a lot over the months since my last letter to you and important changes have also taken place within our industries. Regarding Avivagen, our accomplishments include the following:

1. 1.Trial Results. Our company has reported on the results of four company-sponsored animal trials. Two of those trials, in broiler poultry and swine, were strongly positive and confirm that chicken and pigs should be major markets for the use of OxC-beta.

2. 2.Science Publications. Two important articles were published about the biology of OxC-beta - with respect to its immune-priming and anti-inflammatory properties. Those peer-reviewed articles provide the benefit of broader access to Avivagen's discoveries.

3. 3.Media Exposure. While not all references have been in the mainstream press, OxC-beta is gaining profile. Articles about it or references to it have appeared approximately a dozen times over the past several months, each time helping build product awareness.

4. 4.Website Revisions. The corporate website (www.avivagen.com) and that for one of our pet products (www.vivamunehealth.com) have been rebuilt. They now provide more complete and user-friendly access to information about our company and products.

5. 5.Financial Top-up. In late 2014, Avivagen completed a $1.5 million private placement of new equity. Those funds are intended to enable us to reach meaningful sales and the round was strongly supported by our shareholders, management and chairman.

Those are very solid achievements over two quarters, but they are not all that has been done. The business development activities we've been conducting across Asia may be still more important. That work has built upon the recent positive swine and poultry trial results and scientific publications. Combined, those data present a compelling case for large feed and livestock producers to try OxC-beta. We have therefore been working with such companies to design, schedule and conduct confirmatory trials of OxC-beta in their operations.

What we can and can't say about our business development work makes this a time that is both exciting and frustrating. We've named the Asian countries in which we're working. But we can't "kiss and tell" about the companies with which we're currently working or intend to work: The production of livestock feed and livestock are competitive businesses and large companies in them do not abide their moves being telegraphed by suppliers like Avivagen.

I will go so far as to confirm that we are making what we believe to be strong progress. Across many meetings, I am aware of no prospective customer that has not taken OxC-beta to be a promising product in which they have interest. Our challenge becomes getting large companies to move with the same level of urgency that we do. But one by one we are getting prospective customers' confirmatory poultry and swine trials scheduled. The start of each such trial gives us the opportunity to secure customers that can provide a high volume of ongoing product orders.

We are therefore optimistic about the balance of calendar 2015. We have every reason to believe that trials of OxC-beta in customers' commercial operations will provide benefits similar to those observed in our prior poultry and swine trials - those that generated the results of interest to multiple large feed and livestock producers. Once started, such trials take between two and seven months to complete, depending on the species and protocol. In turn, the results of such confirmatory customer trials set the stage for us to secure sales.

Looking outside our company, there have been important changes taking place. Even a few years ago, some feed and livestock producers were of the opinion that they would never need to stop the routine use of antibiotics for disease prevention and growth promotion. Now it is different, with prospective customers in every country we visit recognizing that they will soon need to find other solutions. In many respects North America remains a laggard in making these changes, but the recent announcements by major fast food chains and grocery retailers that they are going "antibiotic-free" indicates that such changes are coming here too.

Our initial focus remains on Asia, where we are aiming to begin sales this year. Asia is the world's largest market for livestock feed, is welcoming to new products and is rapidly moving away from the use of in-feed antibiotics for livestock production. The scale of Asian feed production is also massive, with single customers potentially able to buy our whole supply.

There have also been developments regarding our companion animal (pet) products and non-surgical sterilization project. My last letter advised that we were not satisfied with the progress of the U.S. marketing partner for our Oximunol pet care line and we have since ended that distribution relationship. We expect to gain better traction with those products with new and more committed distributors and once one or more publications about our canine results appear in peer-reviewed journals. Separately, our non-surgical sterilization project did not generate the intended results in a proof-of-concept study. We still believe in the concept and are now working to determine what issues prevented the treatment from working.

To summarize, we believe we are making progress towards material sales of OxC-beta to the livestock market. We're addressing our resource constraint challenges and remain committed to becoming a pre-eminent creator of animal health products. We consider Avivagen capable of building exceptional value for shareholders and are deeply appreciative of your engagement and assistance. I look forward to providing further updates and thank you for being a shareholder, for taking the time to read this update and for your continuing support for our efforts.

Sincerely,

Cameron Groome

CEO & President, Avivagen Inc.

About Avivagen Inc.

Avivagen Inc. is a publicly-listed life sciences company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol "VIV" and on OTC Pink as "CHEXF." The Company's goal is to develop and deliver scientifically-proven solutions that benefit companion and production animals by employing natural mechanisms for maintaining good health. Target markets include Livestock Productivity and Pet Wellness.

Avivagen is based in partnership facilities of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) - in Ottawa, Ontario and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. For more information, visit www.avivagen.com.

About OxC-beta(TM) fully oxidized beta-carotene ("OxC-beta")

Avivagen's proprietary and patent-protected technology is based on its discoveries concerning carotenoid antioxidants. The novel natural compounds discovered by Avivagen support the body's own systems to maintain and enhance health, by supporting immune function and calming excess inflammation. Avivagen's commercial-stage application of its technology is fully-oxidized beta-carotene. Fully oxidized beta-carotene compounds occur naturally as carotenoid oxidation products in vegetation, but in minute amounts. They have been developed to support companion animal health and for use in the global food animal market.

Research results indicate OxC-beta supports innate immune function and reduces late-stage inflammation, which can help maintain good health. In pets, OxC-beta supports overall vitality and energy, mobility and joint function, and skin, coat and gut health. Results observed in food animals have included healthier growth, more efficient utilization of feed and decreased morbidity. In food animals, it is intended that use of OxC-beta avoids the feeding of antibiotics. Avivagen's commercial products are OxC-beta(TM) Livestock (Kingdom of Thailand), Vivamune(TM) Vital Health3 Chews (United States) and Oximunol(TM) Chewable Tablets (United States).

About OxC-beta(TM) Livestock

OxC-beta(TM) Livestock is available as a 10% pre-mix sold in 1.0 or 5.0 Kg quantities for parts-per-million addition to animal feeds, in accordance with Avivagen or producer-developed protocols. In past studies, OxC-beta(TM) Livestock has been shown to support health or growth in species such as chicken, pigs, cattle and fish. OxC-beta(TM) Livestock is currently available for commercial sale in the Kingdom of Thailand.

About Vivamune(TM) Vital Health3 Chews - For dogs and cats

Vivamune(TM) Vital Health3 Chews, containing Avivagen's proprietary active ingredients, are scientifically-formulated chews for dogs and cats. Vivamune(TM) Vital Health3 Chews work with a pet's own immune system to help it maintain overall health and well-being. They are sold in re-sealable packages of 30 chews and are currently available in the United States by ordering on-line at www.vivamunehealth.com.

About Oximunol(TM) Chewable Tablets - For dogs

Oximunol(TM) Chewable Tablets are scientifically-formulated chewable tablets that contain Avivagen's proprietary, patented active ingredient OxC-beta(TM). OxC-beta(TM) has been shown to stimulate innate cellular immunity and may thereby help to maintain overall health and well-being. Oximunol(TM) Chewable Tablets were distributed by a multinational animal health company in the United States and Avivagen is now working to identify a new partner through which to distribute to veterinarians for dogs of all ages.

Permanent Non-Surgical Sterilization of Female Mammals

Avivagen has optioned worldwide exclusive rights to a technology for the permanent and non-surgical sterilization of female mammals. Proof-of-concept work is ongoing to demonstrate whether the technology appears to be safe and effective. It is expected that a patent covering World Trade Organization countries will be pursued and further information will be disclosed when a patent application is published or as otherwise deemed prudent or required.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon the current expectations of management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties associated with the business of Avivagen Inc. and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions "aim", "anticipate", "appear", "believe", "consider", "could", "estimate", "expect", "if", "intend", "goal", "hope", "likely", "may", "plan", "possibly", "potentially", "seem", "should", "whether", "will", "would" and similar expressions. Statements about uses of the technologies described in this news release, including their importance to animal or human health, their novelty, safety, efficacy or affordability, whether trial conditions represented typical commercial conditions or are repeatable, corporate activities or their relevance, when and whether meaningful sales will be achieved, changes within the company's fields of industry, characterizations of the views of prospective customers and activities in pet health or non-surgical sterilization, are all forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Such Avivagen risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: its ability to continue as a going concern; the results of ongoing or future trials may not be positive or sufficiently positive; even if the results of trials are positive, there is no guarantee that its products will be commercially successful or that requisite regulatory approvals will be obtained; the timing and results of trials may be delayed or may not be completed at all; and intellectual property rights may prove inadequate to protect its inventions. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Avivagen assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information:
Avivagen Inc.

Cameron Groome, CEO & President
100 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0R6
Head Office Phone: 613-949-8164
Website: www.avivagen.com

Copyright (C) 2015 Avivagen Inc. OxC-betaTM, Vivamune(TM) and Oximunol(TM) are trademarks of Avivagen Inc.

 

SOURCE: Avivagen Inc.