Biomira Solidifies Patent Protection For MUC1 Cancer Antigen
EDMONTON, May 1 /CNW/ - Biomira Inc. (Nasdaq: BIOM) (TSE: BRA) announced
that on April 24, 2001, the Imperial Cancer Research Technology Limited (ICRT)
of London, England, was issued a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office entitled: Antigen derived from the core protein of the human mammary
epithelial mucin. (U.S. Patent number 6,222,020). This is a composition of
matter patent for MUC1 covering the peptide used in Biomira's BLP25 liposomal
cancer vaccine.
"This patent is licensed by Biomira and represents a very important
component in our coverage for the BLP25 vaccine program," said Alex McPherson,
MD, PhD, President and CEO of Biomira. The ICRT U.S. patent will enjoy a
17-year term from issue and counterparts have already issued in Europe and
Canada, while pending in Japan," he concluded.
Biomira had previously acquired from the Imperial Cancer Research
Technology Limited, the licensing arm of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund
(ICRF), an exclusive worldwide license to ICRT's rights to a certain protein
(MUC1 antigen) for in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro uses in the treatment and
diagnosis of cancer. The MUC1 antigen is found on human breast, ovarian, colon
and pancreatic cancer cells. Biomira and ICRT also entered into a second
license agreement on November 5, 1999, which, among other things, granted
Biomira an exclusive worldwide license of ICRT's MUC1 peptide patent rights
for treatment and diagnosis of diseases other than cancer. As well, Biomira
has an exclusive license (subject to certain rights of the United States
government) from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. ("DFCI") of Boston,
Massachusetts, in the United States for in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro uses in
the treatment and prevention of cancer in humans.
Biomira is currently recruiting patients into its BLP25 vaccine Phase IIb
trial. The study is looking to recruit 166 patients at 14 evaluation sites, 10
in Canada and four in the United Kingdom. Patients will be eligible for the
trial if they have had a good response to first line standard chemotherapy or
if their disease is stable. The objective of the trial is to see if
immunological responses previously shown in earlier trials translates to
clinical benefit.
Biomira is a biotechnology company specializing in the development of
innovative therapeutic approaches to cancer management. The Company has
completed enrolment in its Phase III THERATOPE(R) vaccine trial for women with
metastatic breast cancer. The trial enrolled 1,030 women in a multinational
Phase III trial with THERATOPE(R) vaccine. The commitment to the treatment of
cancer currently focuses on the development of synthetic vaccines and novel
strategies for cancer immunotherapy. We are The Cancer Vaccine People(TM).
This release may contain forward-looking statements. Various factors
could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in
forward-looking statements, including those predicting the timing of clinical
trials or the efficacy of products and the scope and validity of patent
protection. Although the Company believes that the forward-looking statements
contained herein are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the Company's
expectations are correct. All forward-looking statements are expressly
qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
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For further information: Biomira Company Contacts: Bill Wickson,
Manager, Public Relations & Special Assistant, (780) 490-2818; Investor
Relations, Jonathan Fassberg, The Trout Group, (212) 477-9007 x16, Media
Contact: Brad Miles, BMC Communications, (212) 477-9007 x17;
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