A little more income:
SLOUGH, England, June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Xenova Group plc (Nasdaq: XNVA - News; London Stock Exchange: XEN - News) today announced the signing of a significant, two-year Manufacturing, Development and Clinical Supply Agreement with Pharmexa A/S (CSE: PHARMX - News) for the contract manufacture of clinical supplies of a vaccine targeting the human HER-2 protein. Manufacture will take place at Xenova's Clinical Trial Manufacturing Facility in Cambridge.
The HER-2 protein is commonly found in association with several cancers, such as breast cancer. Pharmexa has developed the AutoVac(TM) Protein technology to raise a highly specific controllable antibody based immune response against this and other self-proteins. Pre-clinical studies indicate that AutoVac(TM) vaccination against the HER-2 protein may be an effective therapy against breast cancer.
Xenova has already supplied Pharmexa with clinical trial material under a previous agreement. Under this new agreement, additional supplies of the vaccine will be manufactured by Xenova for Pharmexa's Phase II clinical trials scheduled to begin in 2004.
David Oxlade, CEO of Xenova commented, "We are excited to contribute to the development of a promising new product against breast cancer. This new contract for the manufacture of recombinant protein vaccine is a well-deserved endorsement of the expertise we have in this area and allows Xenova to maximise the efficient utilisation of our biological process development and manufacturing capabilities."
Jakob Schmidt, CFO of Pharmexa said of the agreement, "We recently received approval by the US health authorities to initiate a Phase I clinical trial in the United States of our HER-2 AutoVac(TM) protein vaccine in breast cancer, and are now preparing for a Phase II trial in 2004. We have worked with Xenova before and have been impressed by their expertise and commitment to this project."
Notes to Editors
About Pharmexa A/S
Pharmexa A/S (CSE: PHARMX - News) is a leading company in the field of active immunotherapy for the treatment of serious chronic diseases. Pharmexa's proprietary AutoVac(TM) technology platform is broadly applicable, but the company has focused its resources on a number of cancer forms and chronic inflammatory diseases, with research and development programs targeted towards breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and bone degeneration. Collaborative agreements include Schering-Plough and H. Lundbeck... |
