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29 March, 2006, Graz, Austria: ProtAffin Biotechnologie AG, a company developing biological products with the novel anti-inflammatory mechanism of action of targeting cell surface carbohydrate structures called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), today announced the appointment of an internationally recognised Scientific Advisory Board and a Supervisory Board. ProtAffin’s unique CellJammer™ discovery technology is being used to modify chemokines such as interleukin-8 (IL-8), to generate novel protein drugs that block the trafficking of leukocytes to sites of acute and chronic inflammation. The Company’s lead product PA04-001 has been derived from IL-8, and its anti-neutrophil infiltration activity has been extensively characterised in vitro. PA04-001 has also shown potent efficacy in a number of in vivo models of inflammatory diseases. ProtAffin’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) includes: Professor Robert Huber, FRS, Professor at the Technical University of Munich and former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry. Professor Huber was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1988 and is a leading authority on structural biology. Professor Detlef Schlöndorff, Director of the Medizinische Klinik (Innenstadt), Munich. Professor Schlöndorff is a clinical nephrologist with many years of experience in the role of chemokines in various clinical settings. Professor John Gallagher, Patterson Institute, University of Manchester. Professor Gallagher has pioneered the biochemical analysis of GAGs and investigations of their involvement in inflammation and cancer. He has also served on the SAB of other glycomics companies. Dr Jason Slingsby, CEO of ProtAffin commented: “I am delighted that ProtAffin has been able to form a Scientific Advisory Board with such internationally-recognised figures. We look forward to working with them to assist in the future development of ProtAffin as a product-focussed biotechnology company.” Professor Andreas Kungl, CSO of ProtAffin commented: “Our CellJammer™ discovery technology is a derivative of several scientific disciplines. The strength of our SAB lies in its multi-disciplinary skill set, which will prove to be a major input to our competitiveness in a dynamic field like glycomics. Interacting with novel therapeutic targets like GAGs needs, in addition to an innovative drug like PA04-001, support from top scientists in the field. We believe the assistance of the SAB will be important in ProtAffin’s development into a leading glycomics company.” ProtAffin’s new Supervisory Board is chaired by Dr Christian Hoenig, Partner in the law firm Wolf Theiss, Vienna. The Board also includes Dr Brian Morgan, who has previously been Vice President: Scientific Licensing, Head of R&D in Germany and Head of Research in UK at SmithKline Beecham. Overall, he has spent 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry at both Beecham and SmithKline Beecham. Since 1997, Dr Morgan has been a Non Executive Director of several biotech companies in UK, Israel, Germany and France. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Fellow of the Institute of Biology and is a former Chairman of the Society for Drug Research. The third member of the Supervisory Board is Ms. Mary Tyler, a retired Finance Director of a company in Switzerland. – ENDS – About ProtAffin Biotechnologie AG ProtAffin was spun-out from the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria in July 2005 by Dr Jason Slingsby and Professor Andreas Kungl. Jason Slingsby, CEO of ProtAffin was formerly Director of Business Development at Sosei Co. Ltd., in London (TSE: 5645) and Senior Manager, Business Development at Intercell AG, Vienna (ATX: ICLL). Andreas Kungl is Professor at the University of Graz and Vienna and formerly worked at Novartis Forschungsinstitut (NFI) in Vienna and Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry. Andreas is a well-established figure in the field of protein-GAG interactions and is a past coordinator of European Union programs focussed on the biology of GAG-binding proteins. ProtAffin has secured Seed Finance of €1.3m including an initial Angel investment round, and has six employees based in Graz. About CellJammer™ discovery technology ProtAffin has developed the CellJammer™ discovery technology for the development of novel biological products. Proprietary assays and rational design approaches allow the company to increase the binding affinity of proteins, such as chemokines, to GAG structures. It is now recognised that certain GAG structures are present on the surface of inflamed endothelial cells, and that these structures specifically present pro-inflammatory chemokines, such as IL-8, to leukocytes, thereby triggering infiltration to a site of inflammation. Using the CellJammer™ discovery technology, ProtAffin can generate chemokines with a greatly increased affinity for disease-specific GAG structures, while removing the activation domain responsible for leukocyte activation. This has created an entirely novel class of protein-based GAG antagonists. This class has several advantages over low molecular-weight GAG mimetics, such as intrinsic target specificity and lower developmental costs. The CellJammer™ discovery technology can be applied to a wide range of GAG-binding proteins and the approach also has distinct advantages compared to monoclonal antibodies for certain targets. The CellJammer™ discovery technology has applications in drug discovery and development for both acute and chronic inflammation. ProtAffin’s lead anti-inflammatory product PA04-001 was derived from human interleukin-8, using our proprietary CellJammer™ discovery technology. About glycomics Glycomics is a dynamic and fast-growing field that is concerned with comprehensively analysing carbohydrate structures and understanding their roles in biology and in disease. ProtAffin is focussed on the role of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in inflammatory diseases. The most studied GAG in relation to disease processes is heparan sulfate which is a highly charged, sulphated linear polysaccharide. It is now recognised that there are specific heparan sulfate sequences induced on the surface of inflamed endothelium, which bind to proteins such as chemokines in a sequence-specific manner. ProtAffin’s CellJammer™ discovery technology takes advantage of this specific interaction to develop protein-based GAG antagonists for treatment of inflammatory diseases. While the first generation of glycomics companies such as Oxford Glycosciences was commercialising early glycomics discoveries, the growing maturity of glycomics as a broad field is providing a wealth of innovative approaches to companies like ProtAffin for developing new pharmaceutical products with novel characteristics. For further information contact: ProtAffin Biotechnologie AG
Jason Slingsby, CEO Northbank Communications
Gemma Bradley |
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