Categories: General
      Date: May 2009
     Title: Adjuvantix enters into prostate cancer collaboration

UK Biotech companies join forces to develop novel prostate cancer vaccine

York and Sheffield, United Kingdom. May 14, 2009

Pro-Cure Therapeutics Limited ("Pro-Cure") and Adjuvantix Limited announced today that they have entered into a research and development collaboration targeted at the development of a stem cell vaccine for the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer.

There is strong evidence that cancer stem cells (CSCs) initiate cancers as well as leading to cancer spread and to recurrence after treatments. Pro-Cure, a cancer stem cell specialist, has successfully identified important new CSC derived targets that it believes will provide the foundation for the development of more effective cancer treatments.

The collaboration will bring together Pro-Cure's proprietary CSC targets and expertise in prostate cancer with Adjuvantix's expertise in vaccine discovery and development. Adjuvantix's potent new vaccine adjuvant technology, ADX40, which will be used in this vaccine can also be used to elicit immune responses in many different disease areas, as well as oncology.

Dr Mick McLean, CEO for Pro-Cure, said "We believe this is the first program aimed at developing a vaccine against cancer stem cells, and we're delighted to enter this early stage collaboration with Adjuvantix. Whilst we're still some way from having a product that can be tested in man, we believe that the combination of the expertise of the two companies creates the best possible opportunity for realizing Pro-Cure's goal of improved prostate cancer therapeutics."

Dr Paul Jenkins, CEO for Adjuvantix, commented "Our alliance brings together two companies with complementary world- class research expertise. Recent positive Phase 3 results  with an autologous cell-based vaccine in prostate cancer validates vaccination 
as a viable treatment approach and makes the  development of an off-the-shelf vaccine a highly attractive  proposition. Adjuvantix is committed to using its ADX40 to develop  vaccines against cancer and infectious diseases and the collaboration  with Pro-Cure is one of the first of a series of such alliances"

Dr David Milroy of the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund which supports both Pro-Cure and Adjuvantix said: "Our role is to invest in and support exciting new technology emerging from the Universities of York, Leeds and Sheffield to enable the transition from promising research work to commercial reality. Adjuvantix and Pro-Cure have complementary technology and know-how and we are delighted that they are collaborating topave the way for a prostate cancer vaccine."

Note for Editors.

About Cancer Stem Cells

It is becoming more widely accepted that cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a fundamental role in the development of several cancers including prostate, leukemia, breast, germ-cell and brain. CSCs have proven to be highly resilient cells that are programmed for survival with the ability to produce new cell and tissue growth, often with significantly different characteristics to the original tissue in which they were present. Furthermore, CSCs have been shown to be resistant to current therapeutic approaches for the management of this disease including chemotherapies, radiation therapies and can also survive some surgical procedures where residual tissue remains. Thus, cancer stem cells are believed to be the origins of recurrent tumours - tumours that:

• are often resistant to the available therapeutic tools and treatment regimens
• prove to be extremely difficult to treat with a significantly poor prognosis.

Whilst improvements in the treatment of primary tumours have led to improved short-term outcomes in many cancers and emerging therapeutics provide small increments in survival times, the impact of CSCs is expected to lead to an increasing need for novel therapeutic strategies for the effective prevention of recurrent tumours. Substantial long-term improvements in survival will require therapies that are effective against cancer stem cells.

About Pro-Cure

Pro-Cure Therapeutics Limited (Pro-Cure, www.pro-curetherapeutics.com) has world leading expertise in the culture, isolation, handling and gene profiling of cancer stem cells with initial focus on prostate cancer. Pro-Cure has access to primary tissues and has developed a robust protocol for isolating uncontaminated cancer stem cells which make up only 0.1% of the total cell population, and has also developed proprietary prostate cancer cell lines some of which have a cancer stem cell population.  Pro-Cure has developed in-vitro models and is developing in-vivo models which will enable rapid drug target validation using monoclonal antibodies, small molecules, siRNA and other molecular approaches. Pro-Cure's investors are the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund, Yorkshire Cancer Research, the University of York, YFM and Reef Securities Ltd.

Contact: Dr John Knights +44 (0)1904 561 576

About Adjuvantix

Adjuvantix (www.adjuvantix.com) is a research and development-stage company focused on the application of its enhanced adjuvant ADX40 system to therapeutic and preventative vaccines.  Based in Sheffield, UK Adjuvantix was started in 1999 to realise the commercial potential of Professor Andrew Heath's anti-CD40 research work within the Department of Infection and Immunity at the University of Sheffield.  From this anti-CD40 research, Adjuvantix' lead ADX40 system was developed.  Adjuvantix is funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund and Fusion IP Plc.

Contact Dr Paul Jenkins +44 (0) 7702 871 433