Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Awarded SBIR Grant for Cancer Drug Development

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--May 21, 2002--Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the Company a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant.

The grant, entitled, "Development of Novel Cancer Immunotherapeutics," will support research and development activities aimed at producing therapeutic drugs against the enzyme Human Aspartyl (Asparaginyl) Beta-Hydroxylase (HAAH).

The goal of the funded study is to further investigate and characterize the use of anti-HAAH monoclonal antibodies to affect tumor cell growth, proliferation, motility, and invasiveness, as well as HAAH expression and activity.

The grant focuses on the development of all human single chain ultra affinity fragments derived from these monoclonal antibodies and the ability of the engineered fragments to inhibit tumor cell function.

This approach could result in antibody-based therapeutics for cancer that are potent, are highly specific for transformed cells, are non-immunogenic, display reasonable pharmacodynamics, and are easy to manufacture. The Company is collaborating with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to utilize this novel antibody technology.

"Our collaboration with MIT to develop all human ultra affinity anti-HAAH antibody fragments is potentially an important and exciting advancement for the HAAH Oncology Program," stated Hossein A. Ghanbari, PhD, President and CEO of the Company. "The application of these evolved antibody fragments could provide extraordinary advantages in the development of both therapeutic drugs and diagnostic tests."

HAAH Oncology Program

HAAH over-expression has been detected in primary tumor tissue of all eighteen tumor types tested to date, including cancers of the pancreas, breast, ovary, liver, colon, prostate, lung, brain, and bile duct. HAAH over-expression has been detected in 99% of tumor specimens (greater than 600) tested to date and has not been detected in normal or adjacent non-affected tissue.

Recent findings in preclinical studies have indicated that over-expression of HAAH is sufficient to induce cellular transformation, to increase cell motility and invasiveness, and to establish tumor formation in animals.

Even partial inhibition of HAAH expression appears to have a beneficial effect on tumor cells, causing them to revert to a more normal phenotype as measured by the inhibition of growth, motility, and invasiveness. HAAH is over-expressed on the surface of cancer cells, potentially facilitating detection, drug delivery, and enzyme inhibition.

The Company signed a Collaboration and License Agreement with MedImmune, Inc. (NASDAQ: MEDI - News) in early 2002 to discover, develop, and commercialize therapeutic agents for the prevention or treatment of human disease based on Panacea's HAAH technology or its pathways.

About Panacea Pharmaceuticals

Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company focused on utilizing functional genomics and proteomics to develop therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer. The Company's technology pipeline includes drug development programs for central nervous system diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

More information is available at http://www.PanaceaPharma.com.