OXFORD, UK – 7 June 2012 – Circassia Ltd, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on
allergy, today announced that the United States’ National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a
$6.4 million grant to Professor Mark Larché of McMaster University, Canada, to study mechanisms
of tolerance developed by patients treated with Circassia’s Toleromune® allergy therapy. The
award will fund a prospective clinical trial to investigate the frequency and function of allergen-
specific T cells generated by the ToleroMune treatment. In addition, the funding will support a
clinical study in asthmatic allergy patients to examine specific T cell responses following exposure
to allergens. The grant will also fund in vitro studies using samples taken from the clinical trial
subjects, and preclinical research into immune processes associated with allergy-related asthma
and the effect of the T-cell vaccine treatment.
Commenting on the award, Professor Mark Larché, Canada Research Chair in Allergy and
Immune Tolerance, McMaster University, said, “This NIH funding will greatly enhance our
understanding of the mechanisms responsible for immune tolerance generated by peptide allergy
therapy, and the allergy-related processes associated with asthma. Research into the role of
allergen specific T-cells has been limited to date, and these new studies should significantly
increase our knowledge of the processes involved in allergy, and assist in the development of
effective new treatments.”
“We welcome this support for Professor Larché’s important work in immune tolerance, and are
delighted this funding will further scientific understanding of the mechanisms involved in
desensitising allergy patients with our T-cell vaccine technology,” said Steve Harris, Circassia’s
CEO. “We have completed several successful clinical studies demonstrating the potential of our
ToleroMune therapies to improve patients’ allergy symptoms, and we now look forward to the
results of McMaster University’s investigations into the specific immune processes involved.”
About Circassia’s allergy T-cell vaccines
Circassia is developing a range of allergy treatments based on its proprietary ToleroMune® technology. This
uses small sections of allergens (epitopes) to generate regulatory T cells that suppress allergic responses
and create immune tolerance in patients. The company has successfully completed a number of phase II
studies with its cat, house dust mite, ragweed and grass allergy therapies. Clinical results show that short
treatment regimes with Circassia’s T-cell vaccines can greatly reduce patients’ allergic responses, without
the need for adjuvants or other immune stimulators, while proving extremely well tolerated. As a result, the
treatments offer major potential clinical benefits compared with existing therapies, and have significant
market opportunities. More than 150 million people suffer from allergic rhinitis in the US and Europe, and the
current treatment market is valued at approximately $12 billion per year.
About Circassia
Circassia was founded in 2006 by a team of highly experienced biotechnology scientists and entrepreneurs,
and is chaired by the former Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, Sir Richard Sykes. The company is based in the
UK on the Oxford Science Park, and its joint venture with McMaster University (Adiga Life Sciences Inc) is
located in Hamilton, Canada. Circassia’s ToleroMune technology was developed originally by scientists at
Imperial College, London. Having successfully completed five fundraising rounds, Circassia has raised
approximately £105 million ($178 million) and is backed by a syndicate of world-class institutional investors,
including Imperial Innovations and Invesco Perpetual.
Contacts
Steve Harris
CEO
Circassia
Tel: +44 (0)1865 784574
www.circassia.co.uk
Rob Budge
RJB Communications
Tel: +44 (0)1865 760969
Mobile: +44 (0)7710 741241