another positive ann......

FYI - $0.30 i don't think so........ time to get it cheap while you still can.

Phylogica Ltd, PO Box 8207, Subiaco East, Western Australia 6008
ACN 098 391 961
PHYLOGICA GENERATES MULTIPLE DRUG CANDIDATES FOR
TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ATHRITIS
Key Points
• Multiple Phylomer® drug candidates proven to successfully bind to major
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) disease targets
• Progresses major technical target for Commercial Ready Grant program
($2.3 m)
• Phylomer® peptides libraries proven to be as effective as antibody libraries in
identifying drug candidates for RA
• Phylogica’s extends its competitive advantage of generating Phylomer® drug
candidates that bind disease targets wherever they reside – both outside and
inside the cell
Perth, Tuesday 15th May, 2007: Phylogica Limited (ASX: PYC) announced today that
it has achieved a key aim of its Commercial Ready Grant funded Rheumatoid
Arthritis (RA) program, by generating multiple Phylomer® drug candidates with high
binding strength to several key targets in inflammatory diseases such as RA.
The $2.3 million Commercial Ready Grant awarded to Phylogica in October 2005 is
aimed at identifying Phylomer® drug candidates for RA by scanning Phylogica’s
exclusive libraries of Phylomer® peptides.
Phylogica’s scientists have now generated more than 30 Phylomer® drug candidates
that are able to tightly bind to their targets and potentially block critical interactions at
the onset of RA and also as the disease progresses.
RA is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects approximately 1% of
the world's population. The RA biological therapeutics market is currently dominated
by antibody-based drugs, against which Phylogica believes Phylomer® technology
can establish a strong competitive position.
Phylogica’s Vice President Drug Discovery, Dr Paul Watt, said: “We were thrilled with
the large number of high quality drug candidates generated from our Phylomer®
libraries.”
Each of the Phylomer® drug candidates is able to bind very strongly to the disease
target (refer to Figure 1). “The stronger the binding the better the drug candidate
should perform in preclinical tests, and the lower the dose that may be required for
therapy” he explained.
“We are pleased to report that our Phylomer® peptide libraries were as effective as
antibody libraries in generating multiple strong binding drug candidates for RA,” he
added.
Phylogica Ltd, PO Box 8207, Subiaco East, Western Australia 6008
ACN 098 391 961
More specifically, the Phylomer® drug candidates were shown to bind strongly to two
RA disease targets that lie outside of the cell, including the classical target Tumour
Necrosis Factor (TNF) and CD40 ligand.
“Considering one of the current antibody drugs used to target TNF (Remicade -
Johnson & Johnson) has annual sales of approximately $2.5 billion, we’re very
excited by the potential of pursuing these Phylomer® drug candidates and delivering
on Phylogica’s vision of more targeted, more affordable drugs” said Phylogica CEO
Dr Stewart Washer.
“Our new drug candidates for targeting RA from outside the cell build on our existing
drug candidates for inflammatory targets inside the cell, so that we have now proved
that we can block disease targets wherever they reside – both inside and outside the
cell” he said. “Regardless of where the target resides, we are getting the quantity
and quality of candidates we are looking for, demonstrating the versatility and
efficiency of our Phylomer library approach”.
“This demonstrates yet again the power of the Phylomer® drug discovery engine and
gives us major competitive advantages against other drug discovery engines.” said
Dr Washer.
Phylogica Ltd (ASX: PYC) (www.phylogica.com) is a drug discovery company utilizing its
proprietary Phylomer® technology to develop revolutionary new drugs for stroke, burns injury,
and other anti-inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. The
Company is preparing to commercialise its lead drugs through licensing deals. Phylogica was
founded by the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth (www.ichr.uwa.edu.au)
and the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, United States (www.fccc.edu).
About Phylomer® peptides
Phylomer® peptides are stable fragments of naturally-occurring proteins with the ability to bind
tightly to target proteins and inactivate them as a result. Phylomer® peptides can be selected
for activity against specific disease target proteins. The properties of Phylomer® peptides
make them attractive as cost-effective alternatives to antibodies - a proven multi-billion drug
class. Phylogica's proprietary Phylomer® libraries are collections of millions of Phylomer®
peptides that represent a rich source of drug leads which can be used for multiple diseases.
For further information, please contact:
Corporate Advisor - Cygnet Capital
Sam Willis
+ 618 9226 5511
[email protected]
[email protected]
Media
Daniella Goldberg
+61 2 9237 2803
[email protected]
Phylogica
Stewart Washer
Chief Executive Officer
+ 618 9423 8800 / 0418 288 212
[email protected]
Phylogica Ltd, PO Box 8207, Subiaco East, Western Australia 6008
ACN 098 391 961
FIGURE 1
Assessment of binding of a Phylomer peptide to its RA disease target
(CD40 Ligand competition ELISA assay)
IC50
22±5 nM (free target)
68±5 nM (free peptide)
LEGEND
Phylomer® peptides were shown to bind tightly to RA disease targets (eg CD40 Ligand and TNF). Strong
binding Phylomers® are able to block the disease target more efficiently than weak binding Phylomers®.
(This figure shows a low IC50 value indicating high target affinity for one of the CD40 ligand Phylomer
candidates. More than 30 such hits were identified with IC50 constants in the nanomolar range, which were
also demonstrated to be specific for their target).