New results published on Pharmexa’s PADRE® epitope in Alzheimer’s vaccine

Summary: A group of US scientists have tested Pharmexa’s PADRE® epitope in a prototype Alzheimer’s vaccine. The results are published in the recent edition of the scientific journal Vaccine.

A group of scientists from the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Huntington Beach (California) and the Institute of Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California has published new pre-clinical data on an experimental Alzheimer’s vaccine incorporating Pharmexa’s proprietary PADRE® epitope. The results are published in the recent edition of Vaccine (vol. 24, 2275-2282).

The prototype vaccine, a combination of a fragment of the Abeta peptide and Pharmexa’s PADRE® epitope, gave rise to high anti-Abeta antibody titers in vaccinated mice. No unwanted cellular immune responses were detected, and there were no signs of side effects in the brains of the animals. These independent data therefore confirm Pharmexa’s hypotheses that a safe and effective Alzheimer’s vaccine may be developed using dominant helper cell epitopes such as PADRE® that will alleviate the side effects observed with earlier Abeta vaccines. The results also once again confirm the versatility of the PADRE® epitope across a broad range of applications.

The Abeta peptide is believed to have a central role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Pharmexa, in collaboration with H. Lundbeck, as well as other pharmaceutical and biotech companies, has therefore been targeting the Abeta peptide for a therapeutic Alzheimer’s vaccine.

Hørsholm, August 25, 2006
Jakob Schmidt
Chief Executive Officer

Note to editors: Pharmexa A/S is a leading company in the field of active immunotherapy and vaccines for the treatment of cancer, serious chronic and infectious diseases. Pharmexa’s proprietary technology platforms are broadly applicable, allowing the company to address critical targets in cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, bone degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as serious infectious diseases such as HIV, influenza, hepatitis and malaria. Its leading programs are GV1001, a peptide vaccine that has entered phase III trials in pancreatic cancer and is expected to enter a phase II trial in liver cancer soon, as well as a number of HIV and hepatitis vaccines in phase I/II. Collaborative agreements include H. Lundbeck, Innogenetics, IDM Pharma and Bavarian Nordic. With operations in Denmark, Norway and USA, Pharmexa employs approximately 100 people and is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange under the trading symbol PHARMX.

Contact Information

Jakob Schmidt

Chief Executive Officer

Pharmexa A/S

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