SUMM.L Regulatory News (SUMM)

1 Nov 2006 09:00

VASTox plc01 November 2006 VASTox plc ("VASTox" or "the Company") VASTOX RECEIVES GRANT FROM LEADING EUROPEAN NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASE CHARITY Grant will support Spinal Muscular Atrophy drug discovery programme Oxford, UK, 1 November 2006 - VASTox (AIM: VOX), a leading UK biotechnologycompany, announces today that it has received a grant from the AssociationFrancaise Contre Les Myopathies (AFM), a leading European neuromuscular diseasecharity, to support to the company's Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) drugdiscovery programme. VASTox has developed an innovative in vivo screen, which models SMA in fruitflylarvae (Drosophila melanogaster). The Company is using this model to identifysmall molecules from its proprietary compound library. The financial supportfrom AFM will allow VASTox to accelerate the preclinical screening and candidateidentification phase of the programme and consequently aid the development of anovel therapy for SMA. Spinal Muscular Atrophy affects 50,000 people in the developed world and is agenetic disease that causes loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord resultingin muscle atrophy. Patients either do not acquire or progressively lose theability to move and death primarily occurs due to respiratory failure. In itsseverest form, known as type I, life expectancy is often less than two years. AFM is one of the largest charities in the World that focuses on neuromusculardiseases; it has raised over €1.2 billion since 1987, the majority of which hasbeen devoted to research and development. Founded in 1958 by a group ofmuscular dystrophy patients and families, AFM is focused mainly on developingcures for neuromuscular diseases and reducing the disabilities they cause. Steven Lee, PhD, CEO of VASTox said: "VASTox is delighted to receive this grantfrom the AFM to help us accelerate our spinal muscular atrophy drug discoveryefforts, particularly following the exciting progress we announced in the SMAprogramme last month. It is recognition that our unique, fruitfly-basedapproach to SMA research offers the potential for a novel treatment for thislethal disease. This is VASTox's first charitable grant and we will workclosely with the AFM and other like-minded charities to accelerate our drugdiscovery efforts wherever possible." - ends - For more information please contact: VASTox Steven Lee, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0)1235 443910Darren Millington, Chief Financial Officer Association Francaise Contre Les MyopathiesSerge Braun, Scientific Director Tel : +33 1 69 47 28 28 Citigate Dewe RogersonDavid Dible / Mark Swallow / Valerie Auffray Tel: +44 (0)207 638 9571 About VASTox plc VASTox is a biotechnology technology company that discovers and developsproprietary novel drugs and provides services to the pharmaceutical industry.The company's most advanced drug development programme is focused on developinga new treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy based on the up-regulation ofutrophin. A second drug development programme for spinal muscular atrophy isalso progressing rapidly. VASTox has four additional programmes focused onosteoarthritis, cancer, tuberculosis and stem cell therapies, which are expectedto be out-licensed prior to entering the clinic. The company's chemical genomics technology platform, which uses zebrafish andfruitflies, has the potential to dramatically reduce the time and cost of drugdiscovery and development. This is because using whole organisms allows VASToxto carry out high volume, high content screening that delivers data which ishighly predictive of the efficacy and toxicity of potential drug compounds inhumans. VASTox is growing revenues based on marketing its unique technologyplatform and its chemistry expertise. The company listed on the AIM market ofthe London Stock Exchange in October 2004. Further information about the company is available at www.vastox.com. About Association Francaise Contre Les Myopathies (AFM) The French Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM) was founded in 1958 by a groupof patients and their families, was recognised as being of public utility in1976, and has a single objective : to defeat muscle-wasting, neuromusculardiseases. It has set itself two missions: to cure neuromuscular diseases andreduce the disabilities they cause. To achieve these goals, AFM organises anannual Telethon which is held at the beginning of December. This fund-raisingevent which combines a 30-hour TV show with tens of thousands of local eventsacross France also aims to raise public awareness of neuromuscular diseases.The Telethon provides AFM with most of their donations and represents animportant vehicle for information, communication and education. Since the firstTelethon in 1987, major scientific progress and developments have marked AFM'sfight, helped by the support and determination of patients, families,scientists, volunteers and the generosity of millions of French people. Further information about the charity is available at www.afm-france.org This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange