| BT PHARMA was granted a € 460 000 risk and interest free loan from the Midi-Pyrenees Regional Council to support its ProCervix® cervical cancer programme |   |
Labège, France — March 28, 2006. BT PHARMA, an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapeutic vaccines in cancers, announced today that it received a zero interest financial aid of €460,000 from the Midi-Pyrenees Regional Council that is only reimbursable in case of success, for the development of its lead therapeutic vaccine candidate, Procervix®, for the treatment of cervical precancerous lesions in patients known to be at high risk of developing cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer and its associated-dysplasia are a major healthcare problem and are the result of infection by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease world-wide. In the US and Europe, more than 60 million women are infected and about 1 million of these develop precancerous cervical lesions each year. Despite extensive screening programmes focused on early detection, 35,000 women still die from cervical cancer in the US and Europe annually.
ProCervix® is scheduled to receive approval for Phase I/II clinical trials before the end of 2007. ProCervix® is based on BT PHARMA’s unique CyaA vector system which is able to deliver the appropriate HPV antigens needed to induce strong and specific T-cell responses. ProCervix® is the only bivalent therapeutic vaccine being developed which targets two of the most common HPV strains infecting women, HPV16 and HPV18. These two genotypes account for 70% of all cervical cancers.
Benedikt Timmerman, CEO of BT PHARMA, commented: "We are delighted to receive this grant from the Midi-Pyrenees regional council as it will help us move our cervical cancer vaccines programme toward the clinic. BT PHARMA is one of only a handful companies in the world focused on providing therapeutic vaccine solutions to women affected with HPV-associated precancerous lesions. I am confident that when approved, our Procervix® vaccine will provide a safe and convenient solution to this important unmet medical need."
About BT PHARMA
BT PHARMA is an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapeutic vaccines for the treatment cervical cancer provoked by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
The company’s lead vaccine candidate, ProCervix®, a HPV-therapeutic vaccine targeting cervical precancerous lesions, is scheduled to receive approval for Phase I/II clinical trial before the end of 2007. BT PHARMA plans to develop ProCervix® to proof of concept stage. ProCervix® is based on BT PHARMA’s unique CyaA vector system which is able to deliver the appropriate HPV-antigens needed to induce strong and specific T-cell responses.
In addition, BT PHARMA has a number of other therapeutic vaccine development programmes based on its CyaA vector system. These include TAAVac, for Tumour Associated Antigen Vaccine for a range of human cancers, and DOGTAA which targets various cancers in companion animals.
The company also has a second vaccine vector called PepTel® which has unique intrinsic adjuvant ability. This promising technology platform is available for licensing.
BT PHARMA started operations in October 2002 following its spin off from the Institut Pasteur. The company is headquartered in state-of-the-art facilities in Labège (Toulouse), France and employs 13 people.
About Midi-Pyrenees Regional Council
In February 2006, the « Région Midi-pyrénées » established a new economic policy. This new policy which is a "first" for France is based on supporting companies on a "multi-year" basis by providing support on a project and contract basis. These support contracts include a timeframe and are designed to provide a flexible tailored counsel to companies. In 2007, the "Région Midi-pyrénées" budget for economic development amounted to € 42 million, of which €17 million was directed specifically support SMEs. At the same time, the Region has increased its "research" budget for 2007 by 72%, this follows an increase of 46% in 2006. These research funds have been set up to promote the link between SMEs and academic laboratories.
The « Région Midi-pyrénées » supports also the "Cancéropôle Grand Sud-Ouest" and the "Cancéropôle" of Toulouse and has signed a protocol agreement with the "Association pour la Recherche contre le Cancer" (ARC) in 2006. This four year partnership has the objective of developing the optimal way of developing medical and biological research in the filed of cancer in the Midi-Pyrénées area.
For more information, please, see following website: www.midipyrenees.fr
Source: BT Pharma
