Raven biotechnologies, inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Extend Evaluation Period of Selected Raven ...( SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO Calif. Dec. 6...)

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Raven biotechnologies, inc., a privately held company focused on the development of monoclonal antibody therapeutics (MAbs) for cancer, today announced that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), has exercised an option to extend its evaluation of selected Raven MAb antibodies. As a result, Raven will receive an undisclosed milestone payment.

Under an agreement announced in January 2007, Wyeth has the option to obtain an exclusive license to develop and commercialize selected MAbs from Raven's portfolio of antibodies to a specified target.

The antibodies included in the agreement were discovered using Raven proprietary immunization technology and tumor-derived stem-cell lines and were screened to select antibodies that are active alone or in a conjugated form.

"We look forward to continuing our agreement with Wyeth, a company with a strong commitment to oncology research and development," said George F. Schreiner, M.D., Ph.D., Raven's Chief Executive Officer. "Raven has multiple anti-cancer antibody drug candidates in our pipeline, and collaborations such as this are a critical part of our strategy to rapidly advance the most promising candidates into the clinic."

About Raven

Raven biotechnologies, inc. (http://www.ravenbio.com) is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the development of monoclonal antibody therapeutics for treating cancer. Raven's lead product candidate, RAV12, targets adenocarcinomas and is in clinical development for the treatment of gastrointestinal and other cancers. Raven's discovery process simultaneously identifies cell-surface d
'/>"/>