HOERSHOLM, Denmark, May 23, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Pharmexa Group had turnover of kDKK 4,893 in the first 3 months of 2002 and realised a net loss of kDKK 33,939. Research and Development costs totalled kDKK 36,125. The first quarter results were as expected.
A summary of significant announcements since the release of the company's annual report on March 15, 2002 is set out below:
-- On April 12, 2002 Pharmexa disclosed that GlaxoSmithKline, as part
of the licensing agreement entered in June 2001, has an exclusive
option to negotiate a license for the AutoVac(TM) HER-2 Protein
pharmaccine for a period after completion of phase I. This option
does not cover the AutoVac(TM) HER-2 DNA pharmaccine currently in
phase I/II clinical trials. If GlaxoSmithKline or any other licensee
acquire rights to the AutoVac(TM) HER-2 Protein pharmaccine,
Pharmexa expects to receive upfront, milestone and royalty payments
on sales of finished products. Until then, the agreement has no
financial effect in Pharmexa.
-- On April 24, 2002 Pharmexa's subsidiary Inoxell A/S announced that
the European Patent Office has issued an acceptance of Inoxell's
patent on its Scaffold technology. The European acceptance
significantly strengthens Inoxell's patented CellScreen(TM)
technology platform, which is a versatile genetic approach to
enable discovery of novel targets for drug action.
-- On May 15, 2002 Pharmexa and ZYCOS (Lexington, Mass.) announced that
they have entered into an agreement to formulate Pharmexa's
therapeutic DNA breast cancer vaccine in ZYCOS' GENCAP(TM) system.
Under the agreement, Pharmexa intends to use ZYCOS' proprietary
GENCAP(TM) technology to deliver its AutoVac(TM) HER-2 DNA vaccine
for a phase II clinical study in breast cancer patients planned for
2003. Based on studies performed with GENCAP(TM) the parties expect
that the required dose of DNA vaccine in humans can be lowered as
compared to vaccination with naked DNA. Pharmexa will pay ZYCOS for
formulation, manufacturing and scale up cost, and minor milestones
and royalties if the product is successful. The parties have agreed
not to disclose further financial details of the agreement.
-- On May 16, 2002 the Board of Directors in Pharmexa proposed that
Executive Vice President of Research and Development in H. Lundbeck,
Claus Braestrup is elected new member of the Board of Directors at
an Extraordinary General Meeting following the usual notice in August
of this year. The intention is that Claus Braestrup becomes new
Chairman of the Board of Directors after Joergen Buus Lassen, as
announced on May 2, 2002. Joergen Buus Lassen will continue as board
member.
-- Based on a very positive response from the Food and Drug
Administration Pharmexa announced on May 21, 2002, that the company
is planning an Investigational New Drug application (IND) for a
clinical trial in the United States. Pharmexa expects that the first
clinical trial can be initiated in early 2003. Furthermore,
additional new data from a recent pre-clinical study in monkeys
shows that vaccination with the human AutoVaca HER-2 Protein
pharmaccine leads to antibody concentrations at anticipated
therapeutic levels in all monkeys after only 2-3 vaccinations,
indicative of a highly effective pharmaccine. This result holds a
lot of promise for the coming clinical testing in humans.
To view this release in its entirety, including tables, please click the link: http://reports.huginonline.com/860192/104025.pdf