Corporate | 20 October 2003 08:14

Eckert & Ziegler AG english

NEMOD Demonstrates Promising Preclinical Anti-Cancer Results for PankoMab(TM) Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– NEMOD Demonstrates Promising Preclinical Anti-Cancer Results for PankoMab(TM) Berlin (October 20th, 2003) – NEMOD Biotherapeutics GmbH & Co KG has been able to demonstrate a significant preclinical anti-cancer effect for PankoMab(TM), its lead antibody product against the pan-carcinomic TA-MUC-1 epitope. In various study designs the antibody consistently lowered or reversed tumour growth in mice that had been infected with cancer cells or cancer xenografts. The therapeutic effect was particularly pronounced in small tumour volumes, where PankoMab(TM) arrested tumour growth completely. NEMOD’s study has been accepted for presentation at the upcoming meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Boston. “We are pleased about the therapeutic effects which confirm the strong bio- distribution data for PankoMab(TM) that we were able to publish in May”, commented Dr. Steffen Goletz, NEMOD’s co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “We are confident that the quality of the data will enable us to find first class strategic partners for PankoMab(TM)’s further development.” The preclinical study entitled “Therapeutic Effects of Radiolabelled PankoMab(TM)” investigated the therapeutic effect of 90Yttrium-PankoMab(TM) in mice xenografted with human tumour cells. Using randomised groups of treated and control mice, different doses of radiolabelled antibodies were administered. Animals were monitored for at least 6 weeks with respect to tumour growth, body weight, behaviour and blood counts. Strong anti-tumour activity was observed in 90Y-PankoMab(TM) treated animals. The antibody suppressed tumour growth for more than 40 days independent of the tumour size prior to the begin of the therapy (tumour volume 0.04 – 0.3 cm3). No tumour growth at all was observed in treated animals that had a tumour cell injection 8 days prior to the treatment. The effect indicates a high therapeutic potential of the antibody for small tumours and metastases. No treatment- induced toxicity was associated with any of the procedures, except an expected limited hematological effect. NEMOD Biotherapeutics GmbH & Co KG is a drug discovery company affiliated with publicly listed Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG (ISIN DE 00056597000, German Prime Standard) and dedicated to the development and commercialization of its proprietary PankoMab(TM) technology. Prime foci are oncological indications like gastric, colon, liver, and breast cancer. MUC-1 (“human epithelial mucin”) is a well-known widely expressed protein of normal epithelial cells. A variation of MUC-1, TA-MUC-1, is a carbohydrate- induced conformational antigen that can only be found on epithelial tumors including colon, gastric, pancreatic, prostate, lung, and breast cancer. The monoclonal antibody PankoMab(TM) has been shown to have very high affinity to the TA-MUC-1 molecule in preclinical development as well as high ADCC capacities. (ADCC – Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity – is the mechanism by which antibodies induce natural killer cells and other effector cells of the patients’ immune system to destroy the tumor cell) Enquiries: NEMOD Immuntherapie AG, Dr. Andreas Hey, Chief Operating Officer, Tel: +49 (0)30 9410 84-282 Dr. Steffen Goletz, Chief Scientific Officer, Tel: +49 (0)30 9410 84-184 end of message, (c)DGAP 20.10.2003 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 565970; ISIN: DE0005659700; Index: Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover und Stuttgart 200814 Okt 03