CATCo Regulatory News (CAT)

21 Mar 2005 17:00

Cambridge Antibody Tech Group PLC21 March 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE5:00 GMT, 12:00 EST Monday 21 March 2005 For further information contact: Cambridge Antibody Technology Weber Shandwick Square Mile (Europe)Tel: +44 (0) 1223 471 471 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7067 0700Peter Chambre, Chief Executive Officer Kevin SmithJohn Aston, Chief Financial Officer Yvonne AlexanderRowena Gardner, Director of Corporate Communications BMC Communications/The Trout Group (USA) Tel: +1 212 477 9007 Brad Miles, ext 17 (media) Brandon Lewis, ext 15 (investors) CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY LEGAL ACTION WITH ABBOTT: ABBOTT GRANTEDPERMISSION TO APPEAL Cambridge, UK... Cambridge Antibody Technology (LSE: CAT; NASDAQ: CATG) reportsthe decision by the Rt Hon Lord Justice Jacob, in the Court of Appeal, CivilDivision, to grant Abbott permission to appeal Mr Justice Laddie's judgment infavour of CAT of 20 December 2004. In the Order from the Court of Appeal, the reasons for the decision are statedas follows: "The points raised in (Abbott's) notice of appeal (there is noseparate skeleton argument) appear, just, to raise a real prospect of successand the commercial importance of the agreements is sufficient in thecircumstances to provide a compelling reason for an appeal." The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) that govern court procedures, state that"Permission to appeal will only be given where - (a) the Court considers thatthe appeal would have a real prospect of success; or (b) there is some othercompelling reason why the appeal should be heard." -ENDS- Notes to EditorsCambridge Antibody Technology (CAT): • CAT is a biopharmaceutical company using its proprietary technologies and capabilities in human monoclonal antibodies for drug discovery and drug development. Based near Cambridge, England, CAT currently employs around 280 people. • CAT is a leader in the discovery and development of human therapeutic antibodies and has an advanced proprietary technology for rapidly isolating human monoclonal antibodies using phage display and ribosome display systems. CAT has extensive phage antibody libraries, currently incorporating more than 100 billion distinct antibodies. These libraries form the basis for the Company's strategy to develop a portfolio of antibody-based drugs. • Four CAT human therapeutic antibody products are now at various stages of clinical development, with one further product candidate in pre-clinical development. • HUMIRA, the leading CAT-derived antibody, isolated and optimised in collaboration with Abbott, has been approved for marketing as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in 51 countries. • Six further licensed CAT-derived human therapeutic antibodies are in clinical development by licensees, with four further licensed product candidates in pre-clinical development. • CAT has alliances with a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to discover, develop and commercialise human monoclonal antibody-based products. • On 22 November 2004, CAT announced a major strategic alliance with AstraZeneca to discover and develop human antibody therapeutics in inflammatory disorders. • CAT has a broad collaboration with Genzyme for the development and commercialisation of antibodies directed against TGF, a family of proteins associated with fibrosis and scarring. • CAT has also licensed its proprietary technologies to several companies. CAT's licensees include: Abbott, Amgen, Chugai, Genzyme, Human Genome Sciences, Merck & Co, Pfizer and Wyeth Research. • CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange and on NASDAQ. CAT raised £41m in its IPO in March 1997 and £93m in a secondary offering in March 2000. CAT - Abbott Litigation • CAT's entitlement to royalties in relation to sales of HUMIRA is governed by an agreement dated 1 April 1995 between Cambridge Antibody Technology Limited and Knoll Aktiengesellschaft. The agreement allows for offset, in certain circumstances, of royalties due to third parties against royalties due to CAT, subject to a minimum royalty level. • In March 2003, Abbott indicated to CAT its wish to initiate discussions regarding the applicability of the royalty offset provisions for HUMIRA. Following unsuccessful efforts to resolve the matter with Abbott, CAT commenced legal proceedings against Abbott Biotechnology Limited and Abbott GmbH. • The trial, which took place at the High Court in London, began on 22 November 2004 and lasted three weeks. • On 20 December 2004, the judge, Mr Justice Laddie, ruled in CAT's favour stating that "Abbott was in error when it made its first royalty payment to CAT calculated on the basis that only 2% of the Net Sales was due. It should have calculated on the basis of the full royalty of just over 5% and should have paid and continued to pay CAT accordingly." • On 28 January 2005, CAT reported the decisions of Mr Justice Laddie on various procedural matters, including the denial of Abbott's request for permission to appeal. • On 11 February 2005, Abbott made a written application to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal Mr Justice Laddie's judgment of 20 December 2004. • In January 2005, Abbott paid to CAT US$23.73 million, representing royalty arrears due to CAT arising from the original judgment, and an additional sum of US$1.29 million, representing interest and compensation for currency loss on this amount. Abbott also paid CAT £2.85 million representing an interim payment of legal costs due. These amounts are not reflected in the first quarter results announced on 7 February 2005. Were Abbott to be successful in its appeal these amounts would be repayable. • Pending resolution of Abbott's appeal, the royalty arrears payment will not be recognised as revenue, the payment on account of costs will not be recognised in the profit and loss account and revenue in respect of subsequent royalty receipts will only be recognised at the two per cent rate argued by Abbott. A proportion of CAT's royalty receipts, and of the royalty arrears payment, are payable to the Medical Research Council and other licensors. Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Actof 1995: This press release contains statements about Cambridge AntibodyTechnology Group plc ("CAT") that are forward looking statements. All statementsother than statements of historical facts included in this press release may beforward looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the SecuritiesExchange Act of 1934. These forward looking statements are based on numerousassumptions regarding the company's present and future business strategies andthe environment in which the company will operate in the future. Certain factorsthat could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements todiffer materially from those in the forward looking statements include: marketconditions, CAT's ability to enter into and maintain collaborative arrangements,success of product candidates in clinical trials, regulatory developments andcompetition. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forwardlooking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak onlyas of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to updateor revise the statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange