26th Mar 2008 07:01
Henderson Morley PLC26 March 2008 26 MARCH 2008 HENDERSON MORLEY PLC (AIM) Second Collaborative agreement with Australian Centre for Vaccine Development The Directors of Henderson Morley plc ("Henderson Morley" or "the Company") thedrug discovery company, are pleased to announce the signing of a secondcollaborative research and material transfer agreement with the AustralianCentre for Vaccine Development ("ACVD"), part of the Queensland Institute ofMedical Research. This collaborative research agreement will focus on the development of aprophylactic and therapeutic vaccine targeted at Epstein Barr Virus ("EBV") andtreating malignant disease caused by EBV - one of the most important cancers ofviral origin. HIGHLIGHTS • The collaborative project aims to produce a new vaccine candidate targeted at numerous strains of EBV. • The collaboration will use a combination of technologies from Henderson Morley and ACVD. • This is the second agreement between the Company and ACVD in as many months. The collaboration will use a combination of technologies from Henderson Morleyand ACVD. Each party shall bear its own development costs, and any newIntellectual Property arising out of this collaboration shall vest jointly inHenderson Morley and ACVD. The collaborative project will use an EBV polyepitope antigen developed by theteam at ACVD, incorporated into the PREPS and L-particles delivery vector, toproduce a new vaccine candidate targeted at numerous strains of EBV. Director of ACVD, Assoc Professor Rajiv Khanna, a global authority on thedevelopment of an immune based vaccine and therapeutic against EBV inducedmalignancies, will be leading the collaboration at ACVD. Development of vaccine strategies for EBV-associated cancers, nasopharyngealcancer (NPC) and Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) is a major focus of the AustralianVaccine Institute. One such strategy is based on specifically enhancing humanimmune response to EBV proteins expressed in these cancers. Since both thesecancers express identical viral proteins, it is anticipated that a commonimmunotherapeutic protocol may provide benefit to these patients. It is the useof these proteins together with PREPS and L-particles that is the basis for thecurrent collaboration. This agreement follows January's announcement that the ACVD will undertake thedevelopment of a vaccine targeted at preventing Cytomegalovirus ("CMV") disease- the most important preventable infectious disease of unborn children in thedeveloped world. Commenting, Andrew Knight, Henderson Morley's Executive Chairman said: "We arevery pleased to be working alongside ACVD again, which is a great testament toour team. This presents another exciting opportunity as we continue to developour portfolio for PREPS and L-Particles." Ends ENQUIRIES: HENDERSON MORLEY PLC Tel: 0121 442 4600Andrew Knight, Chairman BISHOPSGATE COMMUNICATIONS LTD Tel: 020 7562 3350Maxine Barnes Mobile: 07860 489571Nick Rome BREWIN DOLPHIN SECURITIES LTD Tel: 0113 241 0126Neil Baldwin HYBRIDAN LLP Tel: 020 3159 5085Claire Louise NoyceStephen Austin Notes to Editors: Henderson Morley Henderson Morley was founded in 1996 with the objective of developing its anti-viral application (Ionic Contra Viral Therapy (ICVT). ICVT is the Lead Platformand has been developed in-house and Henderson Morley wholly owns the patent IPR. Henderson Morley is developing PREPS and L-particles vaccine candidates basedupon non replicating herpes viruses that are DNA free. Further information on Henderson Morley plc can be accessed through theCompany's website at www.henderson-morley.com Australian Centre for Vaccine Development ACVD has a world class reputation for quality research and is at the forefrontin the discovery of candidate vaccine antigens as well as vaccine production andthe testing of potential vaccines and drugs at the cellular, animal model andclinical levels. EBV EBV causes Infectious Mononucleosis (or glandular fever) and infection is verycommon. It does not usually cause serious disease. However, it is also known tocause several forms of malignant disease including some forms of Hodgkin'sdisease and cancer affecting the mouth and pharynx. (Burkitts Lymphoma andnasopharyngeal carcinoma). In some parts of the world (eg Southern China) theseforms of cancer are very common. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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