19th Nov 2007 14:12
Acambis PLC19 November 2007 Holding in Company Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts - 19 November 2007 - Acambis plc('Acambis') (LSE: ACM) announces an interest in its shares by Legal and GeneralGroup plc. On 16 November 2007, Acambis received notification that, as of the close ofbusiness on 14 November 2007, Legal and General Group plc was interested in atotal of 7,630,453 ordinary shares of 10p each, representing a 7.09% holding ofAcambis' issued share capital. -ends- Enquiries: Acambis plcIan Garland, Chief Executive OfficerElizabeth Jones, Chief Financial OfficerLyndsay Wright, VP, Communications and IRTel: +44 (0) 1223 275 300 BrunswickJon Coles / Justine McIlroy / Margherita LupiTel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 About Acambis Acambis is a leading vaccine company developing novel vaccines that addresssignificant unmet medical needs or substantially improve standards of care.ChimeriVaxTM-JE, Acambis' most advanced product in its non-biodefence pipeline,has to date shown an excellent safety and efficacy profile following pivotalPhase 3 trials. It is currently undergoing paediatric trials in India and ispartnered with Sanofi Pasteur and Bharat Biotech. Acambis' proprietaryChimeriVaxTM technology, developed in association with St Louis University, hasalso been used to develop ChimeriVaxTM-West Nile, which is undergoing Phase 2clinical testing, making it the most advanced investigational vaccine againstthe West Nile virus. Acambis has established a global collaboration with SanofiPasteur for further development and commercialisation of the vaccine. ChimeriVaxhas also been applied to development of Sanofi Pasteur's tetravalent denguevaccine, which has successfully demonstrated proof-of-concept in a Phase 2 trialby generating 100% seroconversion to all four dengue virus serotypes. Acambis also has the only vaccine in development against Clostridium difficilebacteria, a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. C. difficile isestimated to cause at least 350,000 cases of C. difficile-associated disease inthe US alone with annual costs to the healthcare system of $1.1bn. Acambis'influenza programme aims to develop a universal vaccine against influenza, forwhich a universal 'A' strain vaccine, ACAM-FLU-A, is currently being tested in aPhase 1 trial, and also includes various further vaccine candidates in theresearch and pre-clinical stages. Acambis is recognised internationally as the leading producer of smallpoxvaccines. Acambis' ACAM2000 (Smallpox (Vaccinia) Vaccine, Live) vaccine foractive immunisation against smallpox disease for persons determined to be athigh risk for smallpox infection was licensed by the US Food and DrugAdministration in August 2007. Acambis has manufactured doses of ACAM2000 foremergency-use stockpiles held by the US Government and several other governmentsaround the world. For safety and prescribing information, please refer towww.acambis.com/ACAM2000. Acambis is based in Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, and islisted on the London Stock Exchange (ACM). More information is available atwww.acambis.com. "Safe Harbour" statementStatements contained within this news release may contain forward-lookingcomments, which involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results tovary from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In some cases, youcan identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as 'may','will', 'could', 'forecasts', 'expects', 'plans', 'anticipates', 'believes','estimates', 'predicts', 'potential', or 'continue'. Predictions andforward-looking references in this news release are subject to the satisfactoryprogress of research which is, by its very nature, unpredictable. Forwardprojections reflect management's best estimates based on information availableat the time of issue. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Legal & General