TORONTO, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - ARIUS Research Inc., , a biotechnology company discovering and developing the next wave of antibody therapeutics, today announced that it has entered into a cGMP contract manufacturing agreement for its Trop-2 Signal Transduction Antibody Program with Laureate Pharma, a full-service biopharmaceutical development and protein production company located in Princeton, New Jersey. ARIUS' Trop-2 antibody program targets a novel marker that has been linked in the scientific literature to aggressive cancers including pancreatic, colon, breast and prostate cancer.
"The initiation of manufacturing for our second drug candidate demonstrates our ability to execute on our milestones and move multiple candidates from the ARIUS pipeline of drug candidates forward," said Dr. David S. Young, President and Chief Executive Officer of ARIUS. "Laureate Pharma has a track record of expertise in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, including capabilities in both clinical and commercial-grade materials and will provide us with a supply of our Trop-2 targeting drug necessary to begin our preclinical studies in the first quarter of 2008 in preparation for human clinical trials."
"Our specialized experience in the manufacture of monoclonal antibodies makes us an ideal partner to support ARIUS and the manufacturing of their Trop-2 Signal Transduction Antibody," said Robert J. Broeze, Ph.D., President & CEO of Laureate. "As with all of our Life Science client companies, we will work closely with the ARIUS team to help them achieve their manufacturing objectives."
ARIUS' Trop-2 Signal Transduction Antibody Program has produced the only unconjugated antibody currently in development targeting this novel marker. Trop-2 is a protein expressed on the cell-surface and found in many cancer indications including pancreatic, colon, breast and prostate cancer. The target is thought to be a key part of the expansive MAPK pathway. Of more than 900 abstracts considered for oral presentation at the October 2007 AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, the abstract on Trop-2 was one of 12 selected. The Trop-2 Signal Transduction Program was generated using ARIUS' proprietary FunctionFIRST(TM) technology, which selects antibodies based on their ability to kill cancer cells.
About Laureate Pharma, Inc.
Laureate Pharma is a full-service biopharmaceutical development and protein production company located in Princeton, New Jersey. Laureate Pharma offers superior bioprocessing services that accelerate new products from development through production. Laureate provides a wide range of specialized services from process design and development to full-scale cGMP production, purification, aseptic filling, testing, validation, analytical services, and regulatory support. Laureate is focused on two active segments of the biopharmaceutical industry: monoclonal antibodies and recombinant protein products. Laureate Pharma, Inc. is a partner company of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. , which provides growth capital for entrepreneurial and innovative technology and life sciences companies through expansion financings, corporate spin-outs, management buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations and early-stage financings. (www.safeguard.com) For more information, contact Michael Cavanaugh, Vice President Sales, Marketing, and Business Development at (609) 919-3400, or info@laureatepharma.com or visit www.laureatepharma.com.
About ARIUS
ARIUS is a biotechnology company discovering and developing the next wave of antibody therapeutics. Established in 1999, ARIUS has built a proprietary technology platform, FunctionFIRST(TM), that rapidly identifies and selects antibodies based on their functional ability to affect disease. This antibody generation engine has enabled ARIUS to assemble a portfolio of more than 500 antibody candidates. In addition to the antibodies it is developing in-house, ARIUS has ongoing partnerships with key biotechnology and drug development companies. ARIUS is listed on the TSX under the symbol "ARI". For further information, visit www.ariusmabs.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, ARIUS successfully advancing its new product programs as well as licensing opportunities. These statements are only predictions and actual events or results may differ materially. Factors that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such statements include, but are not limited to: early stage of development; technology and product development; dependence on and management of current and future corporate collaborations; future capital needs; uncertainty of additional funding; no assurance of market acceptance; dependence on proprietary technology and uncertainty of patent protection; intense competition; manufacturing and market uncertainties; and government regulation. These and other factors are described in detail in ARIUS' Annual Report, forthcoming news releases and other filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and ARIUS is not obligated to update such information to reflect later events or developments.
The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this statement.
CONTACT: Warren Whitehead, C.M.A., Chief Financial Officer, ARIUS Research
Inc., (416) 862-2323 ext. 214, wwhitehead@ariusmabs.com,
contact@ariusmabs.com; James Smith, Investor Relations, (416) 815-0700 ext.
229, jsmith@equicomgroup.com
