Collaboration Agreement

12 Sep 2005 07:01

Provexis PLC12 September 2005 PROVEXIS PLC ("Provexis" or the "Company") COLLABORATION AGREEMENT FOR CROHN'S DISEASE TECHNOLOGY Exercise of right to assign intellectual property from University of Liverpool Provexis, the nutraceutical company that develops scientifically-provenfunctional and medical foods, is delighted to announce that it has entered intoa collaboration agreement with a leading clinical nutrition company ("theCompany"). Provexis is currently developing a proprietary bioactive extract from thePlantain (part of the banana family) which is designed to extend remission inpatients suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). IBD has two forms,Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, both are chronic inflammatory diseasesof the digestive tract which, combined, affect approximately 1 in 400 in thewestern world countries. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Provexis and the Company willdevelop a medical food product incorporating this bioactive extract. It isintended that the food product will enter clinical trials in 2006 on patientssuffering from Crohn's disease. Crohn's Disease is currently incurable with theprimary goals of treatment being control of the inflammation, the relief ofsymptoms, addressing nutritional deficiencies and the extension of remissiontime. The Company will be responsible for the formulation, manufacture and packagingof the medical food product to be used in the full clinical trial and will havethe option of securing an exclusive negotiation period after the trial. Thenegotiation period would give the Company the rights to be the first company topursue the manufacturing and distribution rights for the product. However,Provexis is not obliged to enter into an agreement with the Company for theserights and furthermore, all intellectual property, including the industrialformulation of the medical food product, is wholly-owned by Provexis. In addition, following successful pre-clinical studies on this medical foodtreatment by the University of Liverpool and Provexis, Provexis has exercisedits right to the assignment of the intellectual property from the University ofLiverpool to a new Provexis subsidiary in which the University will be aminority shareholder. The specific components in Plantain with this therapeutic potential werediscovered by Professor Jon Rhodes, based in the Department of Medicine at theUniversity of Liverpool and an Honorary Consultant Gastroenterologist at theRoyal Liverpool University Hospital. Dr Stephen Franklin, CEO of Provexis, commented: "This is another significantmilestone in the development of Provexis. This collaboration is an importantvalidation of the strength of the Provexis technology pipeline." Ends For further information please contact: Provexis plcDr Stephen Franklin, CEO 07710 348 774 Bell Pottinger Corporate and FinancialAnn-Marie Wilkinson/Emma Kent 020 7861 3232 Notes to Editors Provexis develops scientifically proven functional and medical foods. Functionalfoods are foods such as Benecol and Flora pro.activ that contain physiologicallyactive food components and provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition.Medical foods are administered to patients by a physician for the dietarymanagement of specific diseases. In June 2005 the Company joined AIM via a reverse takeover by Nutrinnovator.Nutrinnovator brings with it a technology pipeline as well as marketing, sellingand business development skills. Provexis was formed in December 1999 by the life-science subsidiary of theventure-management company, ANGLE plc. In January 2000, Provexis entered into anew technology option agreement with Rowett Research Services Ltd. (RRS), thecommercial subsidiary of the Aberdeen based Rowett Institute, and this optionwas exercised in November 2001. Provexis' agreements with RRS have provided itwith the intellectual property rights pertaining to its lead product, Fruitflow.Provexis continues to have strong links with the Rowett Institute, whichprovides the company with R&D facilities, human trials and, potentially, newtechnologies. IBD - Technical Researchers at the University of Liverpool have recognised that IBD mayrepresent an altered response to normal intestinal microbes In particular, theybelieve there is a possibility that apparently non-pathogenic "harmless "bacteria can cause inflammation if they penetrate the intestinal mucus andassociate themselves with the lining cells of the intestine. The researchers have characterised the adherence of Inflammatory Bowel Diseaserelated bacteria to carbohydrate structures on the lining of the intestine andfound that the adhesion of such bacteria to cell surfaces can be blocked bysome, but not all, complex carbohydrates. In particular, they found thatspecific types of soluble fibre, extracted from Plantain, were particularlyeffective for preventing bacterial adhesion and accordingly may have efficacyfor preventing or treating IBD. They believe that the soluble fibres may eithermimic or compete with bacterial receptors, thus preventing bacterial recruitmentand subsequent inflammation. This discovery has led Provexis to believe that a Plantain--based formulation(as developed by chemists at Provexis and tested at the University of Liverpool) could underpin a new medical food treatment for extending remission time inpatients with IBD. The medical food product is anticipated to enter a two-site clinical trial onpatients with Crohn's Disease in Summer 2006. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange