VaxGen and Raven Announce Form S4 Registration Statement Declared...( - Companies Provide Update on ...)

- Companies Provide Update on Status of Integration Planning -

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VaxGen Inc. (Pink Sheets: VXGN), a biopharmaceutical company, and Raven biotechnologies, inc. a privately held company focused on the development of monoclonal antibody therapeutics (MAbs) for treating cancer, announced today that VaxGen's registration statement on Form S-4 related to the proposed merger with Raven biotechnologies has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. VaxGen expects to mail the related proxy statement/prospectus to stockholders on February 12. VaxGen's Board of Directors has set March 28th as the date for the Special Meeting of Stockholders to vote on the proposed transaction. Consistent with previous guidance, the date of record for this vote is January 31, 2008.

"We are very pleased to have completed the regulatory phase of this process, and are now on track for a stockholder vote and, I am confident, completion of the merger soon thereafter." Said James P. Panek, CEO and President of VaxGen.

Additionally, VaxGen and Raven have each made significant progress in the operational and planning activities necessary prior to the close of the merger and required to ensure momentum thereafter. This progress includes:

-- The implementation of a restructuring at Raven, resulting in a

reduction in headcount of 15 percent. VaxGen has also completed a

further modest headcount reduction. This positions the two companies

to meet the objective of a combined continuing headcount of

approximately 60, as stated in the announcement of the merger

agreement on November 12, 2007. Raven and VaxGen believe the

resources now in place position the companies to successfully pursue

the stated drug development and financial objectives of the merged

company. Raven continues to advance its near-
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