SMA programme update

17 Oct 2006 09:00

VASTox plc17 October 2006 VASTox plc ("VASTox" or "the Company") VASTox Presents Promising Results from Spinal Muscular Atrophy Drug Discovery Programme at Leading Neuroscience Conference Oxford, UK, 17 October 2006 - VASTox (AIM: VOX), a leading UK biotechnologycompany, has presented exciting progress in its spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)drug discovery programme. VASTox's Head of Biology, Dr Jon Tinsley, presentedthe data at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, Neuroscience 2006,being held in Atlanta, GA, USA, from the 14-18 October 2006. The Company has discovered a number of promising 'hits' from a proprietarycollection of drug-like molecules, which have been shown to improve the symptomsof SMA in an in vivo fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster) screen designed to modelthe disease. The speed with which these hit molecules were identified byscreening directly in a genetically-modified fruitfly is an important validationof VASTox's innovative approach towards drug discovery. This progress willallow the Company to rapidly advance the SMA programme into the leadoptimisation phase of pre-clinical development early in 2007, only 18 monthsafter the programme was initiated. SMA is a severe genetic neurological disease that causes a progressive loss ofmotor neurons in the spinal cord leading to severe muscle atrophy. SMA patientseither do not acquire or eventually lose the ability to move and death occursprimarily as a result of fatal respiratory insufficiency. SMA is the leading genetic cause of mortality in infants and toddlers in theWorld. It affects 1 in 6,000 newborns, an incidence comparable to that of other'common' rare diseases, including Cystic Fibrosis, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophyand Sickle Cell Anaemia. There are an estimated 50,000 SMA sufferers in thedeveloped World. Steven Lee, PhD, CEO of VASTox said: "These results from our spinal muscularatrophy programme illustrate the 'in vivo advantage' of VASTox's approach todrug discovery. By using fruitflies and zebrafish at the earliest stages ofdrug discovery, we are dramatically reducing the time and resources needed andwe believe, significantly increasing the chances of producing a drug which issafe in man. SMA is a deadly genetic disease affecting children and ourapproach towards developing a therapy is both innovative and unparalleled." - ends - For more information please contact: VASTox Steven Lee, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0)1235 443910 Darren Millington, Chief Financial Officer Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: +44 (0)207 638 9571 David Dible / Mark Swallow / Valerie Auffray About VASTox plc VASTox is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops proprietary noveldrugs and provides services to the pharmaceutical industry. The company's mostadvanced drug development programme is focused on developing a new treatment forDuchenne muscular dystrophy based on the up-regulation of utrophin. A seconddrug development programme for spinal muscular atrophy is also progressingrapidly. VASTox has four additional programmes focused on osteoarthritis,cancer, tuberculosis and stem cell therapies, which are expected to beout-licensed prior to entering the clinic. The company's chemical genomics technology platform, which uses zebrafish andfruitflies, has the potential to dramatically decrease the time and cost of drugdiscovery and development. This is because using whole organisms allows VASToxto carry out high volume, high content screening, which delivers data that arehighly 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 Further information on Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) SMA is an autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by a defect in a singlegene called SMN1. SMN protein encoded by this gene is critical to the survivaland health of motor neurons. Without this protein, nerve cells atrophy, shrinkand eventually die, resulting in the observed muscle weakness. Approximately 1 in 40 people are carriers of the defective SMN1 gene and inorder for a child to be affected by SMA, both parents must be carriers of theabnormal gene and both must pass this gene on to their child. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange