Avid Bioservices Announces Addition of Novel Bacteriophage Production System at Upcoming BIO Conference as Part of a Collaboration With Phage Pharmaceuticals

TUSTIN, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 11, 2012) - Avid Bioservices, a subsidiary of Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPHM), today announced that it will collaborate with San Diego-based Phage Pharmaceuticals, whereby Avid will add a custom protein production service using Phage's novel bacteriophage production system to its suite of current client offerings. This new service will be formally launched at the upcoming Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) International Convention from June 18-21, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts. Further details on the partnership were not disclosed.

"By partnering with Phage, we complement our existing services portfolio with Phage's facility, which is dedicated to microbial production, and we believe this strategic addition will benefit our clients' projects by enhancing protein production, to yield more stable and potent proteins," said Steven W. King, president of Avid Bioservices. "We are pleased to be working with Phage to offer their proprietary expression system, as it has many advantages and serves as an extension of our existing cGMP protein production services."

"Avid's established reputation in the industry as a supplier of broad biomanufacturing capabilities, supporting production at every stage of development, makes them an ideal partner for us," said Jamie Oliver, Pharm.D., president & chief executive officer at Phage Pharmaceuticals. "Phage's manufacturing process improves upon well-established approaches for the manufacture of targeted proteins and results in production of properly folded, soluble therapeutic proteins, at high yields. We believe this will be a great asset to Avid's already comprehensive list of service offerings."

About Avid Bioservices
Avid Bioservices provides a comprehensive range of high quality cGMP manufacturing services for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries to support manufacturing of cGMP commercial and clinical products. With over 10 years of experience producing monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins in batch, fed-batch and perfusion modes, Avid's services include stability testing, clinical and commercial product manufacturing and purification, bulk packaging, final product filling and regulatory strategy, submission and support. The company also provides a variety of process development activities, including cell line optimization, analytical methods development and product characterization. For more information about Avid, please visit www.avidbio.com.

About Phage Pharmaceuticals
Phage Pharmaceuticals is a private San Diego, California-based clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company that develops and manufactures therapeutic proteins using a proprietary production method at its own government-certified cGMP facility. The company develops therapeutic proteins for niche markets and indications for which there already exists evidence of safety and efficacy in humans. Additional information about Phage can be found at www.phagepharma.com.