Biovest International announced the completion of five million dollars of capital investment under its April 10, 2003, Investment Agreement with Accentia Inc, a Hopkins Capital Group portfolio company. The recently received capital represents the initial tranche of a multi-year, twenty million dollar investment commitment.

Biovest, which is designated the National Cell Culture Center by the National Institutes of Health, is utilizing a portion of this investment to expand its core businesses of contract biologic production and the manufacture and sale of proprietary cell culture production equipment.

Additionally, a portion of the invested capital is being used to support ongoing clinical trials of its tumor specific therapeutic cancer vaccine being developed to potentially empower the patient's own immune system to effectively fight non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In cooperation with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Biovest therapeutic cancer vaccine is currently in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial for low-grade follicular B-cell lymphoma. Biovest believes that an autologous tumor-specific antigen produced from each patient's tumor may offer potential advantages in cancer treatment. Clinical studies to date, including long-term (median follow-up of greater than seven years) follow-up of phase II patients suggests that the vaccine is non-toxic, a supplement to induction chemotherapy, highly targeted, and results in tumor-specific immune responses in 90% of patients. Moreover, initial vaccination, without any boosters in subsequent years, results in unprecedented tumor-free survival of approximately 50% and overall survival of 80% at seven years.

Stephane Allard, MD the President and CEO of Biovest stated, "Biovest's investment relationship with Accentia is allowing us to accelerate our vaccine development. As a result, we are currently closing on a new 14,500 square foot phase III therapeutic facility which will be reconfigured specifically to produce the Biovest personalized therapeutic cancer vaccine required to complete our pending pivotal Phase III trial. The Biovest proprietary hollow-fiber bioreactor technology has successfully made vaccine for every patient in the ongoing phase III study sponsored by the NCI."