BioInvent and Immusol to Collaborate on Antibody Therapeutic for Macular Degeneration
April 3, 2006--BioInvent International AB (SAX:BINV) and Immusol, Inc. announced today a collaboration for the development of a fully human n-CoDeR(R) antibody for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other ophthalmic disorders. Macular degeneration, a poorly treated condition, is the most common cause of vision loss in people over 60, affecting 20-25 million people worldwide. It is characterised by abnormal and uncontrolled vessel growth in the eye. The collaboration will bring together a rich portfolio of expertise in the area of therapeutic antibody research and development. Immusol will contribute its expertise in ophthalmology and intellectual property rights covering the use of antagonists against a biological target identified to play an important role in the underlying pathological process of AMD. BioInvent will contribute its knowledge and experience in angiogenesis, immunology and therapeutic antibody discovery and development. Under the terms of the collaboration, the parties will share costs and revenues in further development and commercialization. Commenting on the collaboration, Svein Mathisen, President and CEO of BioInvent, said, "We are very pleased to add this project to our growing portfolio and to work with Immusol's expertise in ophthalmic disorders. We believe that this project if successfully developed could potentially offer significant clinical benefit to a patient population poorly treated today." Dr. Flossie Wong-Staal, Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development of Immusol, said, "We are happy to work with BioInvent to leverage BioInvent's antibody expertise in an important disease area. By developing antibodies against a non-VEGF target with proven preclinical efficacy, we hope to tackle wet AMD from a different angle." Legal disclaimer This press release contains statements about the future, consisting of subjective assumptions and forecasts for future scenarios. Predictions for the future only apply as of the date they are made and are, by their very nature, in the same way as research and development work in the biotech segment, associated with risk and uncertainty. With this in mind, the actual outcome may deviate significantly from the scenarios described in this press release. Notes to editors: BioInvent International AB, listed on the O list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange (SAX:BINV), develops therapeutic antibodies against diseases where there is a significant unmet medical need. Antibodies are a strongly growing segment of the pharmaceutical market. BioInvent focuses on discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, and documents their effect in pre-clinical and early clinical trials. Clinical development, marketing and distribution are conducted in cooperation with established pharmaceutical companies. Today BioInvent conducts innovative drug projects involving conditions such as HIV infection, thrombosis, cancer and atherosclerosis. These projects are based on a competitive technology platform that covers the entire chain from the n-CoDeR(R) antibody library for fast and efficient selection of human antibodies, to production in a facility fully approved for manufacturing biological drugs. The scope and strength of this platform is also utilised by partners in the development of new drugs. These partners include ALK-Abello, Antisoma, UCB, GlaxoSmithKline, Igeneon, ImmunoGen, OrbusNeich, Syngenta and XOMA. The Company, which currently has 96 employees, is located at Ideon in Lund. Immusol, Inc. is a privately-held San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel therapies to treat human diseases. Immusol uses an integrated approach, starting with a proprietary discovery technology, to identify therapeutic molecules involved in the areas of cancer, viral infection, and ophthalmology. Based on these discoveries, Immusol develops small molecule and protein-based therapies alone or in collaboration with drug development partners. Immusol's lead drug candidate, ChelASE, is being studied in phase II clinical trials for the treatment of keloids and hypertrophic scars. Other drug candidates are in various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development. http://www.arizonabiotech.com/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biotech-news/ http://www.arizonaentrepreneurs.com/ http://www.azhttp.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biotech-news/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
