LEIDEN, Netherlands, Aug. 31, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Biotech company Pharming Group N.V. ("Pharming" or "the Company") (Euronext:PHARM) (PHARM.AS) announced today that its recombinant human fibrinogen (rhFIB) product has been selected for a US Army project.
Pharming's rhFIB will be utilized in a US Army research project focusing on the development of fibrin bandages. For the supply of rhFIB and technical participation in the project, the Company will receive payments over the next year.
"We are pleased with the selection of our recombinant human fibrinogen product in the US Army project," said Samir Singh, CBO at Pharming. "Given its commercial potential, Pharming intends to supply this unique material for the development of a number of end products."
Pharming's immediate focus is to develop recombinant human fibrinogen as an intermediate product for supply to companies and institutions. In addition, the Company is developing proprietary end products using rhFIB, such as the recombinant tissue sealant, to control bleeding in trauma situations.
Recombinant human fibrinogen
Human fibrinogen is a natural soluble blood protein that can form insoluble fibrin polymers to stop bleeding. Based on this unique functional property of fibrinogen, tissue sealant products have been developed that are used to prevent excessive blood loss during surgery or trauma injury. Fibrin sealants available commercially are based on fibrinogen purified from human donor blood. However, the safety profile of plasma fibrinogen and blood products in general is considered low, consistent quality is difficult to achieve and the supply of these products is unpredictable.
Pharming has established a production system with high expression of recombinant human fibrinogen. The results demonstrate that the structure and function of Pharming's recombinant fibrinogen is virtually identical to plasma fibrinogen. In addition, manufacturing costs are anticipated to be significantly lower as compared to plasma fibrinogen and market demand over 1000 kg per year can be easily met.
The Company is also developing a fully recombinant tissue sealant (rTS) to replace plasma derived fibrin sealant. With the acquisition of patents and licenses for the production and purification of rhFIB and rTS, Pharming has significantly strengthened its patent position and will save time and resources in the development of these products.
Background on Pharming Group N.V.
Pharming Group N.V. is developing innovative protein therapeutics for unmet medical needs. The Company's products include potential treatments for genetic disorders, medical and specialty products for surgical indications, and intermediates for various applications. Pharming has two products in late stage development - recombinant human C1 inhibitor for hereditary angioedema (Phase III) and recombinant human lactoferrin for nutritional use. The advanced technologies of the Company include innovative platforms for the production of protein therapeutics, as well as technology and processes for the purification and formulation of these products. Additional information is available on the Pharming website, http://www.pharming.com.
This press release contains forward looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. The press release also appears in Dutch. In the event of any inconsistency, the English version will prevail over the Dutch version.