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26/07/2004

Antisoma gains exclusive rights to develop ATTACK agent BC1-IL12

London UK, 26 July 2004 –– Cancer drug development company Antisoma plc (LSE: ASM) today announces that it has gained exclusive rights over the drug BC1-IL12 and will now accelerate the agent’s development. This follows Antisoma’s acquisition of EMD Lexigen’s half stake in the programme through the licensing of technology as detailed below.

BC1-IL12, which will now be known as AS1409, is an ATTACK (Antitumour Therapy with Targeting Antibodies and CytoKines) agent made using Lexigen’s ‘immunocytokine’ technology to combine the cytokine IL12 with Antisoma’s tumour-targeting antibody BC1.

Antisoma will prepare AS1409 for clinical trials, building upon promising data presented earlier this year at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting. The drug significantly reduced the growth of tumours in mice carrying human colon, prostate and skin cancers. In a model of metastatic (spreading) lung cancer, coverage of lung surfaces by tumour was 99% lower with AS1409 than with a control.

Antisoma CEO Glyn Edwards said, “Clinical trials have shown that IL12 used alone has remarkable anti-cancer actions, but these are overshadowed by side effects. AS1409 seeks to harness the power of IL12 by combining it with an antibody that focuses its actions specifically on tumours. With promising preclinical data in a variety of cancers we are keen to push this drug forward, and believe that it will be a strong candidate for inclusion into our strategic alliance with Roche.”

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