LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS--(Marketwire - June 10, 2011) - Biotech company Pharming Group NV
("Pharming") (NYSE Euronext: PHARM) is pleased to acknowledge the
recent
announcement by GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. (GTC), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of
LFB Biotechnologies S.A.S., that it has been granted, amongst others, a
patent
by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) covering DNA
constructs
that are being used for the production of any therapeutic protein in the
milk of
any transgenic animal, and that the broad claims in the patent provide
further
protection for this transgenic technology to 2027.
Pharming has a cross-license on this family of patents, based on an
agreement
with GTC which was signed in June 2002. Therefore the granting of
this new
patent also provides further protection in the United States for Pharming's
core
technology platform directed to the generation of transgenic animals
that
produce proteins in their milk.
The strengthening and extension of the protection includes
Pharming's
proprietary rabbit based platform which is specific to Pharming, has
been
validated by the EU approval of Ruconest™ and provides unique
properties
enabling the development of complex proteins such, as human C1 Inhibitor,
that
to date have not been produced in an otherwise economically viable way.
Furthermore the industrial application of our rabbit platform features
certain
know-how elements specific to Pharming which contribute to significantly
lower
capital risk and manufacturing expenditures as well as delivering a
more
flexible supply chain than with any other biologicals production
platforms,
including larger transgenic animals. It is from this rabbit based platform
that
Pharming plans to create new development assets to further its pipeline.
Click here to view GTC's press release on their website
About Pharming Group NV
Pharming Group NV is developing innovative products for the treatment of
unmet
medical needs. Ruconest® (Rhucin® in non-European territories) is
a
recombinant human C1 inhibitor approved for the treatment of angioedema
attacks
in patients with HAE in all 27 EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and
Liechtenstein, and is distributed in the EU by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum
(STO: SOBI). The product is also under development for follow-on indications,
i.e.
antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) and delayed graft function (DGF)
following
kidney transplantation. The advanced technologies of the Company include
innovative platforms for the production of protein therapeutics, technology
and
processes for the purification and formulation of these products.
Additional
information is available on the Pharming website, www.pharming.com.
This press release contains forward looking statements that involve
known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the
actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different
from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
these
forward looking statements.
Press release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/132866/R/1522621/458830.pdf
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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Pharming Group N.V. via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1522621]
