NewLink Genetics Corporation, Through Its Wholly Owned Subsidiary, BioProtection Systems Corporation, Secures a Letter Contract From the Defense Threat Reduction Agency for Testing and Evaluation of Ebola Virus Vaccine

AMES, IA--(Marketwired - Aug 5, 2014) - NewLink Genetics Corporation (NASDAQ: NLNK), through its wholly owned subsidiary, BioProtection Systems Corporation (BPS), today announced a letter contract with the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) for studies that will bring an Ebola vaccine licensed from the Public Health Agency of Canada closer to human clinical trials. The letter contract is for $1.0 million with additional funding subject to final negotiation and will fund Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling pre-clinical toxicology studies and includes the manufacture of clinical materials.

"There is an urgent need for a medical countermeasure against the deadly Ebola virus," commented Dr. Charles Link, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NewLink. "This Ebola vaccine has been 100% effective in preventing lethal infection when given to non-human primates before they are infected with the virus. The vaccine also acts rapidly enough to have significant efficacy even when given to animals that have recently received a typically lethal dose of Ebola virus."

"Advancing this vaccine into a human Phase I safety study is a major priority for NewLink and our partners, whose ongoing support will be critical for moving the project forward," added Dr. Nicholas Vahanian, President and Chief Medical Officer of NewLink.

About NewLink Genetics Corporation

NewLink is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel immuno-oncology products to improve treatment options for patients with cancer. NewLink's portfolio includes biologic and small molecule immunotherapy product candidates intended to treat a wide range of oncology indications. NewLink's product candidates are designed to harness multiple components of the immune system to combat cancer without significant incremental toxicity, either as a monotherapy or in combination with other treatment regimens. For more information please visit http://www.linkp.com.

About BioProtection Systems Corporation

BioProtection Systems (BPS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NewLink Genetics Corporation, is focused on the research, development and commercialization of vaccines to control the spread of emerging infectious diseases, improvement in the efficacy of existing vaccines and providing rapid-response prophylactic and therapeutic treatment for pathogens most likely to enter the human population through pandemics or acts of bioterrorism. BPS is based on three core technologies, each of which can be leveraged into the infectious disease or biodefense fields. The first is our HyperAcute® immunotherapy technology, which is currently focused on enhancing vaccines for influenza but can be adapted to a number of vaccines. The second technology is based on the yellow fever virus vaccine strain. The third technology is a replication-competent recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus, or rVSV, an advanced vaccine technology developed for the Marburg and Ebola viruses.