CATCo Regulatory News (CAT)

12 Sep 2005 07:01

Cambridge Antibody Tech Group PLC12 September 2005 05/CAT/14 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 07.00 BST, 02.00 EST Monday 12 September 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 Rachel Taylor BMC Communications/The Trout Group (USA) Tel: 001 212 477 9007 Brad Miles, ext 17 (media) Brandon Lewis, ext.15 (investors) CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY APPOINTS JOHN BROWN AS NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Cambridge, UK - Cambridge Antibody Technology (LSE: CAT; NASDAQ: CATG) ispleased to announce the appointment of Dr John Brown as a Non-ExecutiveDirector, with immediate effect. John has extensive experience of the biopharmaceutical industry having held anumber of positions within the sector. He was most recently Chief ExecutiveOfficer at Acambis plc where he developed and implemented a strategy to developnew products, exploit platform technologies and achieve profitability. Prior tojoining Acambis as Finance Director, John worked as Head of Research atSutherland & Partners (Edinburgh) Ltd and as a Pharmaceutical Analyst at BellLawrie White. Before this, he consulted widely for pharmaceutical andbiotechnology companies at PA Consulting Group. Following his post-doctoral workwith the MRC, John joined Glaxo Group Research, where he led a team developingsmall molecule therapeutics and completed his MBA. John currently Chairs the Governing Council of the Roslin Institute in Edinburghand is Chairman of Scottish Biomedical and BIA Scotland. In addition, hecurrently holds a number of non-executive directorships within the biotechnologyindustry. These include positions at Protherics plc, Vectura plc and OnyVax Ltd.He also sits on the Advisory Board of the Life Sciences ITI in Scotland, and isa member of the DTI Technology Strategy Board and the DTI BiotechnologyLeadership Council. Previous directorships include Acambis plc and RoslinBiomed. Paul Nicholson, CATs Chairman, commented: We are delighted to welcome John Brownas a Non-Executive Director of CAT. He has widespread commercial, financial andscientific experience within the biotechnology industry and we have no doubtthat he will make a significant contribution to the Board and CATs development.John will also join the Audit Committee and the Remuneration Committee. - ENDS - Appendix CAT hereby confirms that no information is disclosable in relation to theappointment of John Brown pursuant to the requirements of Listing Rule 9.6.13paragraphs (1)-(6). Notes to Editors: John Brown - Biography and DetailsEducation: University of Edinburgh (BSc Hons Pharmacology: PhD Neuropharmacology) Middlesex Business School (MBA) Career details: 1981-1986 Glaxo Group Research: Research Pharmacologist 1986-1991 PA Consulting Group: Consultant, Senior Consultant, Principal 1991-1993 Bell Lawrie White: Pharmaceutical Analyst 1993-1995 Sutherland & Partners: Head of Research 1995-2004 Acambis plc: Finance Director: Chief Executive Officer Nationality: British Marital Status: Married Age: 50 Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT): Business: CAT is a biopharmaceutical company, aiming to bring improvements to seriouslyill patients lives and thereby create outstanding returns for shareholders. CATseeks to develop products independently and in collaboration with partners,using its capabilities and technologies in the discovery and development of newand innovative antibody medicines in selected therapeutic areas. CAT also seeksto licence its technologies to enable others to develop new medicines. CAT has strong financial foundations which arise from its balance sheet strengthand the revenue stream from HUMIRA(R) royalties. The diversified pipeline oflicensed antibody product candidates offers good prospects for growth in themedium term and significant longer term opportunities arise from CATsproprietary development and alliances, especially with Genzyme and AstraZeneca. Products: HUMIRA, licensed to Abbott, is the first CAT-derived antibody to be approved formarketing. It was isolated and optimised in collaboration with Abbott and hasbeen approved for marketing as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 57countries, and for psoriatic arthritis and early RA in some European countries. There are six further CAT-derived antibodies licensed to partners at variousstages of clinical development, including ABT-874 (Abbott), LymphoStat-B,HGS-ETR1, HGS-ETR2 (all Human Genome Sciences (HGSI)) and MYO-029 (Wyeth). CAThas also licensed its proprietary technologies and patents to several companies.CATs licensees include Abbott, Amgen, Chugai, Dyax, Genzyme, HGSI, Merck & Co,Micromet, Pfizer and Wyeth, and three antibody drug candidates are in clinicaldevelopment at patent licensees. There is one proprietary CAT human therapeutic antibody product candidates inclinical development, CAT-354, and one in pre-clinical development with Genzyme,GC-1008. Collaborations: CAT has a broad collaboration with Genzyme for the development andcommercialisation of antibodies directed against TGF beta, a family of proteinsassociated with fibrosis and scarring, and with potential application in thetreatment of some cancers. CAT has a major strategic alliance with AstraZeneca to discover and develophuman antibody therapeutics, principally in inflammatory disorders. Thisprovides CAT with the opportunity to build a substantial pipeline of antibodytherapeutics with a significant pharmaceutical partner. CAT has a co-development collaboration with Amrad against GM-CSF Receptor, apotential drug target in the development of RA. Science: CAT has an advanced proprietary technology for rapidly isolating humanmonoclonal antibodies using Phage Display and Ribosome Display systems. CAT hasextensive phage antibody libraries, currently incorporating more than 100billion distinct antibodies, which form the basis for the Companys strategy todevelop a portfolio of antibody-based drugs. Business Background: Based near Cambridge, UK, CAT currently employs around 290 people. CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange (CAT) and on NASDAQ (CATG). More information can be found at www.cambridgeantibody.com 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 companys present and future business strategies and the environment in which the company willoperate in the future. Certain factors that could cause the companys actualresults, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in theforward looking statements include: market conditions, CATs ability to enterinto and maintain collaborative arrangements, success of product candidates inclinical trials, regulatory developments and competition. We caution investorsnot to place undue reliance on the forward looking statements contained in thispress release. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release,and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange