10th Jan 2005 07:00
Evolutec Group PLC10 January 2005 For immediate release 10 January 2004 EVOLUTEC GROUP PLC ("Evolutec" or "the Company") Appointment of Development Director Evolutec Group plc (AIM: EVC), the biopharmaceutical company developing novelproducts for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, ispleased to announce the appointment of John Hamer as the Company's DevelopmentDirector. Mr Hamer, who has more than 27 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, willfocus primarily on the early stage pipeline at Evolutec, furthering the progressof the Company's pre-clinical portfolio. Prior to joining Evolutec, Mr Hamer was Vice President of Development at InyXPharma Ltd, before which he was Director of Scientific Affairs at Tissue ScienceLaboratories plc. He has also held positions including Director of New ProductDevelopment at Johnson & Johnson Medical, Head of R&D Project Management atFisons Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Clinical Project Manager at Upjohn International. Mr Hamer has considerable experience of all aspects of new product developmentincluding clinical and pre-clinical development, regulatory and qualityassurance and of working directly with US and EU regulatory authorities. His appointment strengthens Evolutec's development team and will allow theCompany to optimise the progress of its current portfolio of two pre-clinicalproducts, rEV598 and rEV576. Both of these compounds were derived from theCompany's proprietary technology platform in which potential drug candidates areisolated from the saliva of blood-feeding ticks. rEV598 is a small protein that has the ability to bind with both serotonin andhistamine. Initial pre-clinical work has focussed on the use of the compoundagainst carcinoid syndrome and CINV (chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting).rEV576 is a small protein that impacts the final step in the complement pathwayand has the potential to treat indications including rheumatoid arthritis andstroke. Mark Carnegie Brown, Evolutec's Chief Executive, said: "I am delighted towelcome Mr Hamer to Evolutec. His extensive experience of the management of R&Dprojects will be a significant asset to the Company, not least in progressingour pre-clinical products." ENDS For further information: Evolutec 01865 784070Mark Carnegie Brown, Chief Executive OfficerNicholas Badman, Chief Financial Officerwww.evolutec.co.uk Collins Stewart 020 7523 8350Chris Howard Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000Mark Court/Tim Anderson/Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for Editors: About Evolutec Evolutec, which is based in Oxford, UK, is a clinical stage biopharmaceuticalcompany with a focus on allergy, inflammation and auto-immune diseases. The Company's lead product, rEV131, is a histamine-binding protein that hasprogressed to phase II trials in allergic conjunctivitis, rhinitis and ocularinflammation. Positive pre-clinical data has also been generated in asthma.rEV131 is understood to be the only product currently in clinical trials thatimpacts the recently discovered H4 receptor, a receptor implicated in many formsof inflammatory disease. The Company intends to carryout proof of concept phaseII clinical trials with rEV131 in allergic rhinitis and post-cataract surgery in2005. The Company has a further two products in pre-clinical development, rEV598 whichis being evaluated in carcinoid syndrome and CINV (chemotherapy-induced nauseaand vomiting), and rEV576, a complement inhibitor. Evolutec was founded in 1998 to exploit research carried out by the NaturalEnvironment Research Council. Evolutec's drugs were first isolated from thesaliva of ticks. The tick remains undetected by its hosts, including humans, byinjecting an array of molecules into the skin that suppresses normal defencemechanisms. These stealth molecules have evolved over millions of years toenable the tick to take a blood meal from its host. Evolutec employs the tick'sevolutionary stealth technology to offer the potential of treating humandiseases. Safe Harbour statement: this news release may contain forward-looking statementsthat reflect the current expectations of the Company regarding future events.Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events coulddiffer materially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factorsincluding the success of the Company's research strategies, the applicability ofthe discoveries made therein, the successful and timely completion of clinicalstudies, the uncertainties related to the regulatory process, the successfulintegration of completed mergers and acquisitions and achievement of expectedsynergies from such transactions, and the ability of the Company to identify andconsummate suitable strategic and business combination transactions. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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