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Biotech / Medical : Small Cap Foreign Biotech -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nigel bates who wrote (204)	8/14/2001 5:45:06 AM
From: nigel bates	Respond to of 363

SLOUGH, England, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Xenova Group plc (Nasdaq: XNVA; London Stock Exchange: XEN) today announces that its joint venture company, Phogen, has signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Palo Alto, California based Genencor International, Inc (Nasdaq: GCOR - news) for the application of Phogen's VP22 technology to the development of a limited number of therapeutic vaccines for certain infectious viral diseases. Phogen's VP22 technology enables the spreading of peptides and proteins from one cell directly into neighboring cells, increasing the delivery efficiency of DNA-based vaccines. This may overcome one of the major challenges in the field of gene therapy and molecular medicine, namely the delivery of the desired genes or proteins to a sufficient number of target cells to elicit a therapeutic response. Vaccines may also be formulated using vectosome technology, in which DNA-based constructs are encapsulated using VP22 protein to increase intracellular uptake and hence potential clinical benefit. Phogen's VP22 technology has broad applications in a number of areas in addition to therapeutic vaccines, such as gene therapy, diagnostics, target validation and genomics and plant technology. Data relating to VP22 was published in the 4 May issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, which highlighted the light-activated properties of the technology. This property is of particular interest for cell-based screens and assays and for photodynamic therapy, allowing the delivery of test molecules to specific cells and/or tissues. Genencor will initially evaluate Phogen's proprietary VP22 technology for vaccines to treat diseases including hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV) and human papilloma virus (HPV). Genencor has also licensed an opt-in provision, which potentially provides Genencor with expanded access to the technology for application to additional therapeutic vaccine products in the field of infectious viral diseases and cancer. Under the terms of the agreement, Phogen will receive up front license fees, research and development funding and annual license maintenance fees, as well as further payments on the attainment of clinical and regulatory milestones, plus royalties. The license agreement with Genencor will potentially provide Phogen with revenues of over 15m pounds sterling (pounds) ($21m), including 1.2m pounds ($1.7m) in the first year in license, option and contract research payments, plus undisclosed royalties following product launches. David Oxlade, Chief Executive of Xenova, commented: "The commercial potential in this collaboration is highly significant, yet represents only a small area within the scope of opportunities offered by Phogen's VP22 technology. This relationship with Genencor represents an important foundation for Phogen as it begins to unlock the considerable potential of its wide-ranging drug delivery technology." Debby Jo Blank, Genencor's Chief Business Officer, said: "We believe the Phogen technology is very strong. Adding this to our existing in-house portfolio gives us the ability to optimise our lead vaccine product candidates." Notes to Editors Phogen is a UK-based biopharmaceutical company established to develop and commercialize technology based on the protein VP22 for enhancing drug and gene delivery. The company is a joint venture between Xenova Group plc and Marie Curie Cancer Care (MCCC) the UK's most comprehensive cancer care organization. VP22 technology has wide potential applications both for the enhancement of gene delivery efficiency and for light-activated intracellular delivery of oligonucleotides, proteins and peptides....