Bavarian Nordic Announces Positive Mature Phase II Results From Newly Acquired Prostate Cancer Vaccine (y 2)

Prostate cancer had an incidence of more than 500,000 cases worldwide in 2007. It has thus become the most frequent cancer in men and has become more frequent than lung cancer and colon cancer. With estimated more than 140,000 related deaths annually, prostate cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in men. The age adjusted cancer death rates for prostate cancer have doubled since 1930; among other leading malignant diseases only lung cancer has shown a worse development in this century. These tendencies developed even though the five year survival rates for localized prostate cancer have been continuously improved. However, the treatment for metastatic prostate cancer has not been improved in recent years. Prostate cancer is resistant to conventional chemotherapy. The only mechanism that has been used so far in disseminated disease with some effect is hormone treatment. Hormone therapy slows the tumor growth by stopping or blocking testosterone from entering the cancer cells. Prostate cancer cells are typically dependent on testosterone or other androgens as growth factors. Thus, although initially effective, hormone therapy becomes ineffective after a period of time. Chemotherapy for disseminated disease at this stage is very limited with only one chemotherapeutic agent approved for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer that extends survival by - 2 months, with toxic side effects. All other therapies for this stage of disseminated prostate cancer are palliative and do not prolong survival. Thus, improved therapies for prostate cancer are urgently needed.

    
    Contact:
    Anders Hedegaard, President & CEO -
    +45-23-20-30-64;
    Vicki Martin, Axon Communications -
    +44-208-439-9407 / vmartin@axon-com.com .

Contact: Anders Hedegaard, President & CEO - +45-23-20-30-64; Vicki Martin, Axon Communications - +44-208-439-9407 / vmartin@axon-com.com .