AVERION AND BRAZILIAN CRO BIOCANCER SIGN
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE AGREEMENT
Averion To Initiate Oncology Offering In South America
BOSTON (August 24, 2007) – Averion International Corp. (OTC BB: AVRO) and Brazil-based BIOCANCER today announced a non-exclusive agreement to jointly market and contract complementary services for biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. BIOCANCER is a full-service site management and clinical research organization (CRO) with a focus on oncology.
“This agreement expands our reach to South America, providing us with access to leading clinical sites and large patient populations,” says Philip Lavin, PhD, Averion International’s Chief Executive Officer. “In line with our strategy to achieve rapid market growth, we plan to continue building on our international oncology CRO base through strategic partnerships and acquisitions. BIOCANCER has established relationships with highly qualified and experienced personnel and we are pleased to partner with BIOCANCER as we grow our oncology research business.”
“As we help our clients plan and implement global development for new oncology agents, this alliance allows us to extend our sponsors’ access to cost-effective, high-quality medical facilities that can handle common and rarer forms of cancer,” says Gene Resnick, MD, Averion International’s Chief Medical Officer.
Carlos Guimarães, BIOCANCER’s CEO, adds, “Our relationship with Averion will help fulfill our goal at BIOCANCER to offer significant value in global oncology trials by providing superior clinical research support through an alliance with a recognized leader in the development of oncology.”
About BIOCANCER
BIOCANCER is an oncology-focused drug development service company which helps provide pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and drug development companies with access to Brazil's large patient populations. It is based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s third largest city. BIOCANCER's services include patient and investigator recruitment; clinical trial planning; regulatory support; protocol design and review; database design; data entry and verification; pharmacokinetic and statistical analysis; and the generation of clinical trial reports, manuscripts and abstracts. For further information visit: www.biocancer.com.br
About Averion International Corp.
Averion International Corp. is a full service clinical research organization (CRO) that provides clinical research and staffing services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device/diagnostic industries. Its business focus os on oncology, medical devices, dermatology, and nephrology. Averion’s clinical research core competencies are in FDA and product registration support, site selection, project management, medical and site monitoring, data management, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, medical writing, and comprehensive clinical trial management services throughout the clinical trials lifecycle. The company has supported the FDA approval of products from many therapeutic areas, including oncology, medical devices, dermatology, and nephrology. It also provides staffing services to help resolve the many regulatory and validation problems faced by clients throughout the product development lifecycle.
Averion is headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts. Its other US facilities are in New York, Philadelphia and San Diego, and it has offices in Germany, the United Kingdom and Austria, and operations in Poland. For further information, visit: www.averionintl.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
Any statements contained in this press release that are not historical information are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "project," or words of a similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our ability to attract, retain or integrate key personnel, including scientific and technical personnel; the termination, modification or delay of contracts which would, among other things, adversely impact our recognition of revenue included in backlog; risks associated with our pursuit of strategic acquisitions or investment in new markets; our ability to acquire and integrate new businesses; our dependence on certain industries and clients; our ability to adequately protect sensitive patient information and confidential information of clients; our ability to keep pace with rapid technological changes; fluctuation in our operating results; our ability to recruit suitable volunteers for our clients’ clinical trials; our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations and international economic, political and other risks; our ability to develop and market new services in the USA, Europe and internationally; the highly competitive nature of our market; our exposure to changes in outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; the impact of government regulations on our business; whether we can achieve and maintain effective internal controls; and other risks. Certain of these risks and uncertainties, in addition to other risks, are more fully described in the company's annual report on Form 10-KSB for the period ending December 31, 2006 and in the company's other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.