OTTAWA, Oct. 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avivagen Inc. (TSXV:VIV) (“Avivagen”) is pleased to announce that it has signed its first distribution agreement for OxC-beta™ Livestock in Malaysia.
With a total annual feed production of 4.4 million metric tonnes, the Malaysian market is dominated by feed for poultry broilers and layersi. This market, which grew by 3% in 2017, has been driven by the growing popularity of chicken-based fast food restaurants including Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Nando’s, The Chicken Rice Shop, Kenny Rogers Roasters, and Ayamas.ii
Avivagen’s distribution partner in Malaysia, TLC Veterinary Services, is the principal supplier to farms that supply KFC, the leading fast food chain in Malaysia with over 600 restaurants.iii As part of this agreement, TLC Veterinary Services has agreed to undertake the registration process of Avivagen in Malaysia.
Given the Malaysian government’s stated goal of targeting the year 2020 to produce antibiotic free chicken, Avivagen believes this distribution agreement ideally positions the company to take advantage of this country wide mandate.iv
OxC-beta™ Livestock is a proprietary product shown to be effective and economic in replacing the antibiotics commonly added to livestock feeds. OxC-beta™ Livestock is currently registered and available for sale in the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand. Avivagen intends to accelerate market access and the commercial uptake of its OxC-beta™ Livestock product, a product that has the potential to eliminate the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in livestock feed, which is a problem that needs an urgent solution.
About Avivagen
Avivagen is a life sciences corporation focused on developing and commercializing products for livestock, companion animal and human applications that, by safely supporting immune function, promote general health and performance. It is a public corporation traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol VIV and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, based in partnership facilities of the National Research Council of Canada and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. For more information, visit www.avivagen.com. The contents of the website are expressly not incorporated by reference in this press release.
About OxC-beta™ Technology and OxC-beta™ Livestock
Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ technology is derived from Avivagen discoveries about carotenoids, compounds that give certain fruits and vegetables their bright colours, and is a non-antibiotic means of maintaining optimal health and growth. OxC-beta™ Livestock is a proprietary product shown to be effective and economic in replacing the antibiotics commonly added to livestock feeds. OxC-beta™ Livestock is currently registered and available for sale in the Philippines, Taiwan, New Zealand and Thailand.
Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ Livestock product is safe, effective and could fulfill the global mandate to remove all in-feed antibiotics as growth promoters. Numerous international livestock trials with poultry and swine using OxC-beta™ Livestock have proven that the product performs as well as, and, sometimes, in some aspects, better than in-feed antibiotics.
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”, “pursue”, “seem”, “should”, “whether”, “will”, “would” and similar expressions. Statements set out in this news release relating to the distribution agreement in Malaysia, timing of the Malaysian government’s policy initiatives, Avivagen’s positioning and ability to take advantage of those initiatives, the possibility for OxC-beta™ Livestock to replace antibiotics in livestock feeds as well as fill a critical need for health support in certain livestock applications where antibiotics are precluded, Avivagen’s intention to accelerate market access and the commercial uptake of its OxC-beta™ Livestock product and the size of market opportunities 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. For instance, Avivagen’s distribution partner in Malaysia is under no obligation to purchase the product from Avivagen, the Malaysian government may change or eliminate its mandated timing for antibiotic free chicken, Avivagen’s products may not gain acceptance in Malaysia or allow Avivagen to take advantage of the Malaysian government’s policy initiatives, Avivagen’s products may not gain market acceptance or regulatory approval in new jurisdictions or for new applications and may not be widely accepted as a replacement for antibiotics in livestock feeds, new market access may not occur in the timeline or manner expected by Avivagen and the market opportunities may not be as large as Avivagen anticipates due to many factors, many of which are outside of Avivagen’s control. 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.
Information as to market size if various jurisdictions is sourced by Avivagen from third parties. While Avivagen believes such third-party sources to be reliable, it has not independently verified such information and readers should not place undue weight on such information.
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.
Drew Basek
Director of Investor Relations
100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
Phone: 416-540-0733
E-mail: d.basek@avivagen.com
Kym Anthony
Chairman & Interim CEO
100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
Head Office Phone: 613-949-8164
Website: www.avivagen.com
Copyright © 2018 Avivagen Inc. OxC-beta™ is a trademark of Avivagen Inc.
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i 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey
ii US-Gain report: Malaysia Grain and Animal Feed-2018 GAIN Report # MY8002
iii https://kfc.com.my
iv : https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/333981