STATEMENT BY MR PETER HANSEN EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN NORWOOD ABBEY LIMITED (ASX-NAL) Major Breakthrough in Immunology Research Key points Immune system stem cells discovered Ability to grow new thymus facilitated Supplements GnRH analogue use Norwood’s research partners at the Monash University laboratory of Associate Professor Richard Boyd have made a further important breakthrough in their immunology research programme involving the thymus – a critical element of the human body immune system. Professor Boyd’s research group has now discovered, using mice, a small population of epithelial stem cells that can be used to generate a new, complete, and functional thymus. The research results have been published today by the prestigious international journal ‘Nature Immunology’ (http://www.nature.com/ni/) and are the subject of a separate announcement by Monash University. The thymus is a small organ that is critical in generating many vital cells of the immune system including ‘infection fighting’ T cells. In some people, the thymus does not work properly due to ageing, attack by viruses, chemotherapy or genetic abnormalities. When this happens, the body becomes susceptible to infection with the possibility that death may result. The human thymus shrinks from the size of approximately two small apples in children to that of approximately a pea in adults with a corresponding reduction in its capacity to generate T cells. Work being conducted by Associate Professor Richard Boyd’s group at Monash University had previously demonstrated that the adult thymus could be regrown, using a class of currently marketed drugs -- the GnRH analogue molecules. This work has been the basis for the discussions already initiated by Norwood with selected potential pharmaceutical partners for commercial development. The importance of this further advance is that it raises the possibility, for those adults who do not have any remaining thymic tissue or who have a defective thymus (due to disease, age, radiation or prior drugs), that it may be feasible to create an entirely new and functional organ.
The discovery - a major scientific and medical breakthrough - is a most important and exciting expansion of the Norwood Immunology project. Coupled with the ability to use the current GnRH analogue drugs there is now the potential opportunity to create a new reservoir of T cells for treatment of additional disease states and therefore a wider patient base. While medical research of this nature is inevitably long term, much work has already been completed and the discovery is a step toward development of a possible cure/therapy for a number of auto-immune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes or in immuno-deficiency situations where T cells are depleted, such as in the treatment of many cancers or during organ transplantation. “A major question in immunology has been how to build a thymus”, Associate Professor Boyd said. “There are two major cell types to the thymus: lymphocytes and the epithelial. It has been known for about 30 years that haemopoetic stem cells lead to the lymphocytes but, until now, we have not known which cells lead to the creation of the epithelium”. The thymus epithelium is vital in the immune response because it converts haemopoetic stem cells to T cells and then assists in the ability of T cells to recognise foreign invaders and also stops T cells from attacking body tissues. If there is a defect in the thymus then there is a defect in the T cells and a greater predisposition to disease. “The discovery of thymic epithelial stem cells is extremely exciting for us and has taken 15 years of dedicated research. So far, these cells have been found only in mice. Our next task is to find where they are in humans. This work has now started in earnest”, Associate Professor Boyd said. For Norwood, the opportunities flowing from its sponsored research and licensing arrangements with Monash University, and the associated Intellectual Property, have now been significantly expanded. Norwood is collaborating with several internationally recognised medical research institutions in Australia and North America and is in the process of commercialising medical technologies for the delivery of drugs and the restoration of the human immune system. To find out more about the company, visit www.norwoodabbey.com For further information, please contact: Peter Hansen Chairman & CEO (61 3) 9782 7333 Bernie Romanin Director of Marketing & Communications (61 3) 9782 7333
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