Keele, UK: Cobra Biomanufacturing Plc, the international manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals, is pleased to announce that the current Good Manufacturing Practice (‘cGMP’) production of Scancell Holdings Plc’s (PLUS:SCLP), the parent company of Scancell Limited (‘Scancell’), the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines based on its patented ImmunoBody® platform, SCIB1 DNA vaccine has been successfully completed ahead of the planned clinical trials that are expected to commence on schedule in H1 2010.
SCIB1 is being developed for the treatment of melanoma. The vaccine has been developed using Scancell’s patent-protected ImmunoBody® technology platform that overcomes the current limitations of most cancer vaccines by generating the high-avidity T-cells that kill cancer cells. Melanoma kills over 1,800 people every year in the UK, with over 130,000 new cases of the disease being reported annually worldwide. Advanced melanoma currently has a very poor prognosis with late stage (stage IV) disease having a median survival of approximately 6 months.
The final release of the product for SCIB1 clinical trials is anticipated mid-Q4 2009 and will be undertaken by Cobra’s in-house QP.
David Evans, Chairman of Scancell, commented:
“Cobra Biomanufacturing has done an excellent job manufacturing our SCIB1 DNA vaccine on time and on budget. This is another important step forward towards our goal of starting clinical trials with SCIB1 in the first half of 2010.”
Simon Saxby, Chief Executive of Cobra Biomanufacturing said:
”It has been a pleasure to work with Scancell on the production of their SCIB1 vaccine. The two teams have worked closely together to make this a highly successful project and we wish Scancell every success with their clinical trials. The Cobra team look forward to working with Scancell in the future.”
For further information, please contact:
Cobra Biomanufacturing Plc Tel: +44 (0) 1782 714 181 Simon Saxby, Chief Executive Officer
Buchanan Communications Tel: +44 (0) 207 466 5000 Tim Anderson/ Camilla Bernhardt
College Hill Life Sciences Tel: +44 (0) 1260 296 506 Kathryn Robertson
Seymour Pierce (NOMAD & Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 207 107 8000 Chris Howard/Christopher Wren
