12th Sep 2005 07:00
Evolutec Group PLC12 September 2005 For immediate release 12 September 2005 EVOLUTEC GROUP PLC ("Evolutec" or "Company") POSITIVE PRECLINICAL RESULT FOR rEV576 IN myasthenia gravis Evolutec Group plc (AIM: EVC), the biopharmaceutical company developing novelproducts for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, ispleased to announce a positive preclinical result for one of its pipelineproteins, rEV576, in the serious auto-immune disease myasthenia gravis.Myasthenia gravis results in progressive fatigue, loss of muscle tone andincreasing paralysis. There is currently no cure for myasthenia gravis. rEV576 is a potent complement inhibitor, an exciting new class of drugs thattarget the complement system. The complement system is implicated in a number ofconditions including local tissue damage following coronary thrombosis anddamage to joint surfaces in rheumatoid arthritis. In the trial, a single dose of rEV576 completely prevented paralysis and weightloss over a five day period. This significant preclinical result will bepresented on the 13 September 2005 at the 10th European Meeting on Complement inHuman Disease in Heidelberg, Germany. This result suggests that rEV576 may have potential in both acute conditions,such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cardio-pulmonary bypass (heartbypass surgery), and chronic autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoidarthritis. The Company plans further preclinical work to select appropriateindications for the clinic. Mark Carnegie Brown, Evolutec's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Thisexciting result highlights the potential of our pipeline molecule rEV576 andunderlines the novelty of Evolutec's technology. Importantly, as rEV576progresses towards the clinic, we begin to offer shareholders a degree ofportfolio diversification." Henry J. Kaminski, Professor and Vice Chair of Neurology, Case Western ReserveUniversity, commented: "rEV576 demonstrated dramatic protection in thispreclinical trial. rEV576 may prove to be a powerful agent for treating acuteexacerbations of myasthenia gravis and perhaps as a chronic autoimmune therapy." ENDS For further information: Evolutec 0118 922 4480Mark Carnegie Brown, Chief Executive OfficerNicholas Badman, Chief Financial Officerwww.evolutec.co.uk Robert W. Baird 020 7488 1212Shaun Dobson/Xavier de Mol Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000Mark Court/Tim Anderson/Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for Editors: About the complement system and rEV576's mechanism of action The complement system is an essential part of the body's natural defencemechanism against foreign invasion. It is also involved in the inflammatoryprocess. It comprises around 20 plasma proteins, which act as enzymes or asbinding proteins, along with multiple cell-surface receptors and severalregulatory membrane proteins. When foreign material is detected, the complementcascade is activated and locally acting chemical messengers are released. rEV576's mechanism of action is by binding the C5 protein of the complementcascade thereby preventing the release of C5a and C5b-9 (the membrane attackcomplex). C5a and C5b-9 attract white blood cells and allow them to passthrough blood vessel walls into the tissue. The white blood cells then releasecytokines that destroy the tissue locally. Complement can be activated inappropriately under certain circumstances leadingto undesirable local tissue destruction. In ischemic stroke and myocardialinfarction, the body recognises the dead tissue in the brain or heart as foreignand activates complement so causing further local damage. Similarly incardiopulmonary bypass operations, the body recognises the plastic surfaces inthe machine as foreign, activates complement and can result in vascular damage.In autoimmune diseases, the body may wrongly recognise itself as foreign andactivate complement with local tissue damage (e.g. joint destruction inrheumatoid arthritis and muscle weakness in myasthenia gravis). About Evolutec Evolutec, which is based in Reading, UK, is a clinical stage biopharmaceuticalcompany with a focus on allergy, inflammation and auto-immune diseases. The Company has commenced a 112 patient proof of concept Phase II clinical trialwith rEV131, its lead product, in allergic rhinitis. Evolutec intends to carryout additional proof of concept Phase II trials with rEV131 in post-cataractsurgery and dry eye. Positive pre-clinical data has also been generated inasthma. rEV131 is a histamine binding protein and is understood to be the onlyproduct currently in clinical trials that impacts the recently discovered H4receptor, a receptor implicated in many forms of inflammatory disease. The Company has a further two products in preclinical development: rEV576, acomplement inhibitor, and rEV598, which is being evaluated in carcinoid syndromeand CINV (chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting). 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:
Nanoco