Vaccine Applications of iBio's Proprietary Lichenase Technology Reported at International Conference

NEWARK, Del., March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --iBio, Inc. (NYSEAMEX: IBIO) announced that Konstantin Musiychuk, Ph.D., of the Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (FhCMB), will report new data and review successful preclinical vaccine applications of iBio's proprietary lichenase fusion-protein technology at the New Cells, New Vaccines VI conference in Wilmington, Delaware. Dr. Musiychuk will describe the results of tests conducted with antigens from anthrax, plague and malaria that demonstrated that lichenase fused antigens prolonged vaccine effectiveness and lowered the antigen dose required for protection in preclinical challenge models.

Lichenase technology enables an adjuvant component to be fused directly to preferred recombinant antigens to create a single protein for safe and cost-effective use in a new vaccine application.  Multiple proteins or antigenic domains of proteins can be fused to various portions of lichenase to enhance vaccine performance. This approach is expected to provide significant advantages over more conventional methodologies used to improve vaccine efficacy including better production economies and increased product stability.

iBio and FhCMB developed lichenase technology as an alternative to traditional vaccine adjuvants to overcome limitations of more conventional approaches. The use of lichenase-antigen fusions as part of iBio's platform presents new opportunities for subunit vaccines with enhanced performance and greater stability as well as for therapeutic vaccine products. For example, Dr. Musiychuk reviewed data demonstrating that a vaccine candidate comprised of a lichenase fusion with the E7 protein of the human papilloma virus (HPV) has been used in animal tests to prevent the growth of cancer cells induced by HPV.  Lichenase-E7 fusion antigen produced 100% survival in the TC-1 mouse tumor model for HPV carcinogenesis, compared with only 40% of those mice receiving the comparable unfused E7 antigen.

The New Cells, New Vaccines VI conference is an international scientific workshop of the International Association for Biologicals, an independent, non-profit scientific organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

About iBio, Inc.

iBio develops and offers product applications of its iBioLaunch™ platform, providing collaborators full support for turn-key implementation of its technology for both proprietary and biosimilar products. The iBioLaunch platform is a proprietary, transformative technology for development and production of biologics using transient gene expression in green plants. The technology has been applied successfully to proteins difficult or impossible to produce with other methods, as well as proteins representative most important classes of biologic pharmaceuticals. Advantages of the iBioLaunch platform over other systems include enablement of rapid development and validation of modular, scalable, and optionally robotic, multi-product manufacturing facilities; production time measured in weeks instead of months or more; product entry that is unconstrained by traditional process patents; and significantly lower capital and operating costs for comparable production. Further information is available at: www.ibioinc.com.

About Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology

Fraunhofer USA CMB, a division of Fraunhofer USA, Inc., is a not-for-profit research organization whose mission is to develop safe and effective vaccines targeting infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. The Center conducts research in the area of plant biotechnology, utilizing new, cutting edge technologies to assist with the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of human and animal diseases. The Center houses individuals with expertise and excellence in plant virology, pathology, molecular biology, immunology, vaccinology, protein engineering, and biochemistry. Further information is available at www.fraunhofer-cmb.org.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included in this news release related to iBio, Inc. may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological development, market demand, and the Company's ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to variability in size, scope and duration of projects. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect the Company's financial results can be found in the company's Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE iBio, Inc.