Medicago, Quebec City, Quebec, TSX.V : MDG, is a publicly-traded biotechnology company focused on the development, production and commercialization of protein-based vaccines and biopharmaceuticals using a proprietary manufacturing system developed from its expertise in the genetic engineering of plants.

Medicago is developing its own proprietary pipeline of influenza vaccines

Outlook

Medicago is currently conducting all the necessary preclinical work for its H5N1 VLP pandemic vaccine to enable it to file a CTA with Health Canada in 2009 which would then, pending feedback from Health Canada, allow it to proceed into human clinical trials.

Upcoming milestones include:

• Submission of a CTA to Health Canada for edicago’s H5N1 pandemic vaccine
• Production of clinical grade vaccine supply for use in Phase I human clinical trials
• Initiation of a Phase I clinical trial for its pandemic vaccine
• Continuation of business development activities with potential partners
• Completion of immunogenicity study in mice for seasonal vaccine candidate.

To face pandemic and seasonal vaccine supply challenges, Medicago has developed a proprietary transient expression system which produces recombinant vaccine antigens in the cells of non-transgenic plants.

This technology offers significant advantages of speed and cost over competitive egg-based and cell culture technologies. It can deliver a vaccine for testing in about a month after the identification and reception of genetic sequences from the pandemic strain.

This production time frame has the potential to allow vaccination of the population before the first wave of the pandemic strikes and to supply large volumes of vaccine antigens to the world market including developing countries.