16th Jan 2008 11:12
Henderson Morley PLC16 January 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 16 JANUARY 2008 HENDERSON MORLEY PLC (AIM) Collaborative agreement between Australian Centre for Vaccine Development and Henderson Morley plc The Directors of Henderson Morley plc ("Henderson Morley" or "the Company") thedrug discovery company, are pleased to announce the signature of a materialtransfer and collaborative research agreement with the Australian Centre forVaccine Development ("ACVD"), part of the Queensland Institute of MedicalResearch. The collaborative research agreement is to undertake the development of avaccine targeted at preventing Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease the most importantpreventable infectious disease of unborn children in the developed world. Thecollaboration will use a combination of technologies from Henderson Morley andACVD. Each party shall bear its own development costs, and any new IntellectualProperty arising out of this collaboration shall vest jointly in HendersonMorley and ACVD. 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. Henderson Morley is developing PREPS and L-particles vaccine candidates basedupon non replicating herpes viruses that are DNA free. The collaborative project will be using a CMV polyepitope antigen* developed bythe team at ACVD, incorporated into the PREPS and L-particles delivery vector,to produce a new vaccine candidate targeted at numerous strains of CMV. Director of ACVD, Assoc Professor Rajiv Khanna, a global authority on thedevelopment of a preventative vaccine against CMV, will be leading thecollaboration at ACVD. "I am very excited to be working on this importantvaccine program using PREPS and L-particles as a delivery vector for theantigens developed by QIMR. Earlier studies, using a different viral vector werevery successful, and PREPS and L-particles offer advantages over this. I amtherefore optimistic for a successful outcome from this collaboration" quotedProfessor Khanna. Executive Chairman of Henderson Morley, Andrew Knight, stated "We are verypleased to be working with Professor Khanna and his team. He and his team havean exceptional International reputation. The opportunity this collaborationpresents is highly significant both for the development of a successful vaccineagainst CMV disease and for the Company." 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 Notes for editors *polyepitope antigen - an epitope is the part of a molecule (usually a protein)that is recognized by the immune system. In this case, a polyepitope is acombination of proteins derived from several strains of CMV, that have beenjoined together to make a single large antigenic molecule. A vaccine based uponthis polyepitope protein is intended to cause the production of immune responsesto several different strains of CMV virus. CMV Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most significant microbial cause of birthdefects, including brain damage and deafness, in developed nations, with 40,000infected children born each year. (US government figures). One child every hourbecomes disabled due to congenital infection. No vaccine is currently licensedfor the prevention of CMV infection and The United States Institute of Medicinehas ranked the development of a CMV vaccine as a highest priority because of thelives it would save and the disabilities it would prevent. There are two important clinical settings where vaccination will have asignificant impact on health outcome. The first is the prevention of thesequelae of congenital HCMV infection, and the second is in the prevention oflife threatening infections in those with a compromised immune system- usuallyas a result of organ transplantation. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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