Scancell Holdings Plc, (AIM: SCLP), the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on progress towards meeting the trigger for the second tranche payment from the sale of Scancell’s antibody portfolio to Arana Therapeutics in 2006.
On 1 December 2006, Scancell sold its portfolio of antibodies to Arana Therapeutics (then known as Peptech (UK) Limited and subsequently acquired by Cephalon Inc). The consideration for the sale was a cash payment of £2 million, which was paid on completion of the sale, plus a possible further sum of £2.85 million gross which is payable when the first patient is treated with a drug derived from any of the antibodies which were the subject of the sale, provided that this occurs prior to 6 December 2011.
A notification has recently appeared on ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the US National Institutes of Health, confirming that a Phase 1 Study of CEP-37250 (formerly known as Scancell antibody SC104) in patients with advanced solid tumours is expected to commence in October 2011 in three US clinics.
The Phase 1 study has not yet commenced and there is no guarantee that it will commence in time to satisfy the milestone; it therefore cannot be assumed that the contingent consideration will be paid. Shareholders will be kept fully updated with any further developments.
For further information contact:
Scancell Holdings Plc
Professor Lindy Durrant
+44 (0)207 245 1100*
Hansard Group (Financial PR)
Adam Reynolds/Guy McDougall
+44 (0)207 245 1100
Zeus Capital - Nominated Adviser/Joint Broker
Ross Andrews/Tom Rowley
+44 (0)161 831 1512
XCAP - Joint Broker
John Belliss/Adrian Kirk
+44 (0) 207 101 7070
*this number will direct callers to Hansard Group, at Scancell's instruction.
About Scancell
Scancell is developing novel therapeutic vaccines for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases based on its groundbreaking ImmunoBody® technology platform. Scancell’s first cancer vaccine SCIB1, which entered clinical trials in 2010, is being developed for the treatment of melanoma.
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.
An ImmunoBody® is a human antibody or fusion protein engineered to express helper cell and CTL epitopes from tumour antigens over-expressed by cancer cells. Antibodies are ideal vectors for carrying T cell epitopes from tumour antigens as they have long half-lives and can effectively target dendritic cells via their Fc receptors, allowing efficient stimulation of both helper and CTL responses.
The Immunobody® technology can be adapted to provide the basis for treating any tumour type and may also be of potential utility in the development of vaccines against hepatitis, HIV and other chronic infectious diseases.