Last checked at 20 Jul 2016 07:00
20 July 2016
Scancell Holdings Plc
("Scancell" or the "Company")
Extension to Ichor Commercial Option
Scancell Holdings plc, ('Scancell' or the 'Company') the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer is pleased to announce that it has been granted a further extension to its option to licence the commercial use of Ichor Medical Systems' ("Ichor's") proprietary TriGrid® electroporation delivery system with SCIB1, Scancell's ImmunoBody® vaccine for the treatment of melanoma. In exchange, Scancell has granted a partial waiver over the lock-up which prohibited the sale, during the two years following their issue, of ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") issued pursuant to exercise of the Tranche 2 share options (over 3,184,620 Ordinary Shares), issued as part payment for the licence option, as originally announced 16 July 2009 and extended in July 2014. Subject to exercise of the Tranche 2 share options, Ichor will remain under an orderly market agreement requiring any sale of such Ordinary Shares during that two year period to be effected through Scancell's brokers.
Under the terms of the agreed extension, Scancell's licence option, which had been due to expire on 13 July 2016, has been extended until 13 July 2018.
Richard Goodfellow, CEO of Scancell, said:
"Ichor's proprietary TriGrid® electroporation delivery system remains central to our studies on SCIB1 and in particular, to our upcoming US clinical study of SCIB1 in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor, expected to commence in 2017. We are delighted to have extended the licence option agreement to commercialise their technology on the terms as set out above and we appreciate Ichor's continued support of our SCIB1 programme as we continue its clinical development as a potential treatment for patients with melanoma."
Robert Bernard, President & CEO of Ichor, added:
"Scancell has continued to generate outstanding survival data using our TriGrid® electroporation delivery system in conjunction with their lead ImmunoBody® vaccine, SCIB1. We believe that SCIB1 has the potential to be a significant new treatment option for patients with melanoma, and we look forward to continuing to work with Scancell on this exciting product."
For Further Information:
Scancell Holdings Plc
Dr John Chiplin, Executive Chairman Dr Richard Goodfellow, CEO | Scancell Holdings Plc
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Freddy Crossley (Corporate Finance) Tom Salvesen (Corporate Broking) | Panmure Gordon & Co | +44 (0) 20 7886 2500 +44 (0) 20 7886 2500 |
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Mo Noonan/Simon Conway | FTI Consulting | +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 | |
About Ichor and the TriGrid® Delivery System
Ichor is dedicated to the clinical application and commercialization of electroporation technology for the delivery of DNA drugs and vaccines to treat and prevent debilitating or life threatening diseases. They are applying their proprietary TriGri® Delivery System to enable delivery of DNA drugs to address unmet medical needs in areas including therapeutic cancer vaccines, therapeutic proteins and vaccines for serious infectious disease.
About Scancell
Scancell is developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer based on its ImmunoBody® and Moditope® technology platforms.
Scancell's first ImmunoBody®, SCIB1 is being developed for the treatment of melanoma. Data from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial demonstrate that SCIB1, when used as monotherapy, has a marked effect on tumour load, produces a melanoma-specific immune response and highly encouraging survival trend without serious side effects. In patients with resected disease there is increasing evidence to suggest that SCIB1 may delay or prevent disease recurrence.
Scancell's ImmunoBody® vaccines target dendritic cells and 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.
Pre-clinical data on a combination of SCIB1 or SCIB2 and checkpoint inhibition (blockade of the PD-1 or CTLA-4 immune checkpoint pathways) have shown enhanced tumour destruction and significantly longer survival times than when either treatment was used alone.
Scancell has also identified and patented a series of modified epitopes that stimulate the production of killer CD4+ T cells that destroy tumours without toxicity. The Directors believe that the Moditope® platform could play a major role in the development of safe and effective cancer immunotherapies in the future.