RESULTADOS DE ANTISOMA (1)

Antisoma plc reports Q2 results

LONDON, UK, 22 Feb. (PRNewswire) -

Antisoma plc (LSE:ASM, NASD-E:ASOM) the biopharmaceutical company

specialising in the development of products for the treatment of

cancer, today announces its interim results for the period ended 31

December 2001.

Highlights

? 4 for 3 fully underwritten Rights Issue of up to 118.5 million

New Ordinary Shares at 20p per New Ordinary Share to raise

approximately £22 million net of expenses announced today (see

separate announcement)

? Vascular targeting agent DMXAA in-licensed; positive results

shown in combination with chemotherapy and enhancement of radiation

therapy

? Pemtumomab licensing agreement with Abbott Laboratories amended

? US patent received for Therex

? Lloyd Kelland appointed as Head of Laboratory

Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of Antisoma, commented:

"These results demonstrate once again Antisoma's success in

advancing and broadening its product portfolio and in-licensing

promising new products and technologies. Today we have announced

plans to raise further funds to ensure the continued development of

our product pipeline and to take Antisoma to the next stage of

growth."

A presentation for analysts will be held at the offices of

Financial Dynamics today at 9.30 a.m. UK time. Participants can also

join a conference call at the same time. For further details, please

call Claire Rowell on +44 (0)20 7269 7285.

For further information please visit the Company's web site at

www.antisoma.com or contact:

Enquiries:

Antisoma plc Tel: +44 (0)20 8799 8200

Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive Officer Raymond Spencer, Chief

Financial Officer

Financial Dynamics Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113 Jonathan Birt/ Ben

Atwell

Except for the historical information presented, certain matters

discussed in this statement are forward looking statements that are

subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause

actual results to differ materially from results, performance or

achievements expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and

uncertainties may be associated with product discovery and

development, including statements regarding the company's clinical

development programmes, the expected timing of clinical trials and

regulatory filings. Such statements are based on management's current

expectations, but actual results may differ materially.

Chairman's report

Rights Issue

Antisoma today announced proposals to raise approximately £22

million net of expenses through a 4 for 3 Rights Issue. Details of

the issue, which is fully underwritten by SG Cowen and ING Barings,

will be sent to shareholders today together with Notice of an

Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on 18 March

2002 at which shareholders will be asked to approve the offer.

Clinical products

Pemtumomab (Theragyn)

The Company's lead product candidate pemtumomab is currently in

Phase III trials for ovarian cancer and Phase II trials for gastric

cancer. In January 2002 an amendment to the licensing deal with

Abbott Laboratories, "Abbott", for pemtumomab was announced. Under

the new agreement, Antisoma will receive enhanced royalties on all

future sales of pemtumomab following any marketing approval. Under

the previous agreement, signed in October 1999, royalties were fixed

on an escalating basis. The new agreement also includes a milestone

payment in addition to the previously announced payments linked to

approvals and sales targets, and allows Antisoma, under certain

conditions, to regain marketing rights to the product. In return for

the higher royalties and additional milestone payment, Antisoma will

assume Abbott's share of development costs spread over the next three

years.

Recruitment into the pemtumomab pilot Phase II gastric cancer

trial is due to be completed in the second quarter of this year.

Therex

Therex, a naked humanised version of the antibody used in

pemtumomab, has been shown to be effective at inducing

antibody-mediated cell-dependent cytotoxicity (ADCC) in the

laboratory using human white blood cells as a test system. This is an

early indication that the antibody may be able to stimulate patients'

immune systems, in particular by inducing "natural killer" white

blood cells to attack tumours.

In December 2001, Antisoma announced that the Company had

received notification of the granting of a US patent for Therex. The

patent covers antibodies that contain specified amino acid sequences

and that recognise MUC1. The US patent will provide protection to

Therex until at least 2018.

DMXAA

DMXAA is a small molecule that targets established tumour blood

vessels. In November 2001, research published in the journal

Radiation Research showed that DMXAA is able to enhance the impact of

radiotherapy on tumours in animal models. The researchers also showed

that the therapy is effective against tumours when given on its own.

In January 2002, positive in vivo results were announced for

DMXAA in combination with chemotherapy. The studies were undertaken

by the University of Auckland, New Zealand, to examine the effect of

combining a single dose of DMXAA with single doses of nine

widely-used chemotherapy agents in solid tumour in vivo models.

Neither DMXAA nor the chemotherapy drugs alone provided prolonged

delays in tumour growth or cures. However, co-administration with

DMXAA produced a significant delay in tumour growth for eight of the

nine chemotherapy drugs. The greatest effect was seen with the

chemotherapy agents paclitaxel and docetaxel. In a combination of

DMXAA with paclitaxel, a median tumour growth delay of 29.5 days was

observed and four out of eleven mice treated were cured. The dose of

paclitaxel used, which was less than the maximum tolerated dose, by

itself had no significant activity on the tumour with a median tumour

growth delay of 0.3 days and no cures. In the group treated with

DMXAA alone, a median growth delay of 10 days was seen and one of the

seven mice treated was cured.

TheraFab

TheraFab, a fragment of the HMFG1 antibody linked to Yttrium-90,

is designed for intravenous administration to treat common epithelial

cancers in combination with external-beam radiotherapy. The Phase I

study initiated during 2001 in Australia, Sweden and the UK is

designed to check that the drug targets tumours as expected and does

not accumulate to unacceptably high levels in healthy tissues.

Head of Laboratory appointed

Dr Kelland has joined Antisoma from the UK's Cancer Research

Campaign (CRC) Centre for Cancer Therapeutics, Institute of Cancer

Research, London, where he was Reader/Associate Professor and head of

drug evaluation. Dr Kelland is an internationally recognised

authority in the fields of platinum and other small molecule

anti-cancer agents. In his new role he will oversee academic and

other collaborations linked to Antisoma's pre-clinical pipeline.

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