Lentigen Corporation Receives Grant From The National Institutes of Health (NIH) To Develop A Potential New Therapy For The Treatment Of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

BALTIMORE and PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Lentigen Corporation announced today that it has received National Institute of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to develop an improved and novel therapy for patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and other hematological malignancies. The goal of the proposed project is to demonstrate the ability of Lentigen's lentiviral vector (LV) to provide an efficient and clinically feasible delivery system for CD40-ligand (CD154), a well-known stimulator of T cells in CLL.

CLL is a progressive disease for which no cure is available. The cancer produces abnormal white blood cells that are very long-lived and thus accumulate slowly, as opposed to the relatively short-lived and rapidly accumulating cells that characterize acute forms of the disease. CLL is rare in individuals under 45 years of age. The majority of patients are over age 50 when diagnosed and the incidence of the disease increases dramatically thereafter.

Dr. Boro Dropulic, Lentigen founder and CEO, commented, "Lentigen continues to be committed to exploring the potential of our lentiviral vector technology to develop new therapies for devastating diseases. We are optimistic that the LV-CD154 approach will prove to be superior and improve the existing immune therapies for CLL and other hematological malignancies."

About Lentiviral Vectors

Lentiviral vectors (LV) are vehicles that can deliver genes or RNAi into cells with up to 100% efficiency and stability. Previous viral vector systems such as non-viral, adenoviral and adeno-associated viral vectors could achieve high, but not stable gene delivery into cells. Other vectors such as murine retroviral vectors can deliver genes stably, but not efficiently.

Gene delivery is accomplished by the binding and fusing of the LV pseudotyped envelope protein to the target cell membrane. The LV RNA containing the gene or gene silencing sequence is then incorporated into the cell via reverse transcription creating a DNA complex. This complex enters the nucleus incorporating into the chromosomal DNA creating a stable molecule. The gene sequence is integrated in the chromosome and is copied along with the DNA during ongoing cell division.

About Lentigen Corporation

Lentigen Corporation is a privately owned biotechnology company focused on the manufacturing and development of lentiviral vectors using its proprietary gene delivery technology for a wide range of applications in biotechnology and medicine. Lentiviral vectors are highly adapted delivery vehicles that can transport genes or gene silencing sequences into cells with high efficiency and stability. Lentigen is positioning itself to become the leading provider of lentiviral vector products and services for academic, government, biotechnology and pharmaceutical researchers. For further information, visit www.lentigen.com.

Contacts: Lentigen Corporation Greg Feulner, VP Business Development 443-543-5318 greg.feulner@lentigen.com Media Contact: Investor Contact: Gregory Tiberend Tara Spiess Richard Lewis Communications, Inc. TS Communications Group, LLC 212-827-0020 914-921-5900 gtiberend@rlcinc.comspiess@biotechirpr.com

CONTACT: Greg Feulner, VP Business Development of Lentigen Corporation,+1-443-543-5318, greg.feulner@lentigen.com, or Media Contact: GregoryTiberend of Richard Lewis Communications, Inc., +1-212-827-0020,gtiberend@rlcinc.com; or Investor Contact: Tara Spiess of TS CommunicationsGroup, LLC, +1-914-921-5900, spiess@biotechirpr.com

Web site: http://www.lentigen.com/