4th Apr 2008 10:32
Acambis PLC04 April 2008 Holding in Company Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts - 4 April 2008 - Acambis plc('Acambis') (LSE: ACM) announces an interest in its shares by Legal and GeneralGroup plc. On 3 April 2008, Acambis received notification that, as of the close of businesson 2 April 2008, Legal & General Group Plc was interested in a total of7,509,893 ordinary shares of 10p each, representing a 6.97% holding of Acambis'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 / Annabel EntressTel: +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 development-stagepipeline, has to date shown an excellent safety and efficacy profile followingpivotal Phase 3 trials. It is currently undergoing paediatric trials in theendemic region and is partnered with Sanofi Pasteur. 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.ChimeriVaxTM has also been applied to development of Sanofi Pasteur'stetravalent dengue vaccine, which has successfully demonstrated proof-of-conceptin a Phase 2 trial by generating 100% seroconversion to all four dengue virusserotypes. Acambis' ACAM-CDIFFTM is the only vaccine in development against Clostridiumdifficile bacteria, a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. C.difficile is estimated to cause at least 360,000 cases of C. difficile-associated disease in the US alone, and annual costs to US and Europeanhealthcare systems are estimated to be in excess of $7bn a year. Acambis'influenza programme aims to develop a universal vaccine against influenza, forwhich a universal 'A' strain vaccine, ACAM-FLU-ATM, was recently tested in aPhase 1 trial and pre-clinical challenge study. Acambis is currently undertakingpre-clinical testing of a vaccine candidate, dl5-29, against genital herpes. Acambis is recognised internationally as the leading producer of smallpoxvaccines for emergency-use stockpiles held by the US Government and severalother governments around the world. Acambis developed its ACAM2000TM smallpoxvaccine under contracts with the US Government. 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" statement Statements 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