Scancell Holdings Plc, (AIM:SCLP), the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, announces the resignation of Nigel Evans, a Director on the Company’s Board of Directors and Company Secretary, effective 11 December 2012.
The Board intends to make a new appointment and will make an announcement in due course.
David Evans, Chairman of Scancell, commented: "I would like to thank Nigel for his important contribution to Scancell over many years. Nigel, in his role as Executive Chairman of the Company from 2000-2007 played a critical role in development of the company at a particularly turbulent time in its history. More recently Nigel has given steadfast support to the Company both as Board Director and as Company Secretary and we wish him well in his retirement.
The Directors of the issuer accept responsibility for this announcement.
-ENDS-
For Further Information:
| Dr Richard Goodfellow, Joint CEO |
Scancell Holdings Plc |
+ 44 (0) 74 2323 0497 |
| Professor Lindy Durrant, Joint CEO |
Scancell Holdings Plc |
+ 44 (0) 74 2323 0497 |
| Annie Cheng, CFA |
Visible Value LLP |
+ 44 (0) 74 2323 0497 |
| Camilla Hume/Stephen Keys |
Cenkos |
+ 44 (0) 20 7397 8900 |
About Scancell
Scancell is developing therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases based on its ImmunoBody® and Moditope™ technology platforms. Scancell’s first cancer vaccine SCIB1 is being developed for the treatment of melanoma and is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials.
Treating cancer by vaccination allows small non-toxic doses of a vaccine to be administered to a patient, stimulating an immune response. Effective cancer vaccines need to target dendritic cells to stimulate both parts of the cellular immune system; the helper cell system where inflammation is stimulated at the tumour site; and the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte or CTL response where immune system cells are primed to recognise and kill specific cells.
A limitation of many cancer vaccines currently in development is that they cannot specifically target dendritic cells in vivo. Several groups have demonstrated successful vaccination by growing dendritic cells ex vivo, pulsing them with tumour antigens and re-infusing them. However, this procedure is patient specific, time consuming and expensive. Scancell has developed its breakthrough patent protected ImmunoBody® technology to overcome these limitations.
Scancell has also identified and patented a series of modified epitopes that stimulate the production of killer CD4 that destroy tumours without toxicity. The Directors believe that the Moditope™ platform could have a profound effect on the way that cancer vaccines are developed.