Symphogen Presents Novel SymplexTM Antibody Isolation Technology for First Time at IBC Antibody Engineering Conference
Copenhagen, November 25, 2004: Symphogen A/S, the Danish biotech company pioneering recombinant natural human antibody-based products, today announced it will make a presentation at the IBC Antibody Engineering Conference in San Diego on December 2nd, 2004. This will be the first presentation of the Company’s novel proprietary SymplexTM technology which enables the isolation of truly human antibodies. The resulting antibodies have very high affinity and the natural specificity and diversity of the donor starting material as each antibody molecule has been naturally selected on a human background.

The SymplexTM technology enables isolation of truly human antibodies from human plasma cells and maintains the original pairing of the antibody variable region gene segments. This is achieved by isolating B lymphocytes from naturally immune human donors before cloning and linking the antibody variable region gene segments through the SymplexTM PCR. This is different from previous technologies such as phage display where antibody drug leads are selected from large artificial combinatorial antibody libraries or from transgenic mouse in which human-like antibodies have been selected from mice.

Instead the SymplexTM technology produces antibody drug leads which have been developed naturally in humans, and thus reduces the risk of cross-reactivity against normal tissues.

Depending on the nature of the target, the selected antibody drug lead may be polyclonal or monoclonal. Symphogen uses its proprietary recombinant polyclonal antibody manufacturing platform to manufacture polyclonal antibodies.

John Haurum, CSO at Symphogen, commented: ‘We are delighted to be presenting this novel technology for the first time. The SymplexTM technology seamlessly unlocks the enormous potential of the natural human antibody response as a source of antibody drugs. These drug candidates have the natural diversity, specificity, affinity, and safety of antibody molecules from human donors.’

‘Together, the SymplexTM technology for cloning of human antibody drug candidates and our proprietary polyclonal antibody manufacturing technology provide a groundbreaking opportunity to develop truly human antibody pharmaceuticals’ he added.



For more information about Symphogen A/S please contact:
Kirsten Drejer, CEO. Symphogen A/S: +45 45 26 50 59, kd@symphogen.com
John Haurum, CSO, Symphogen A/S: +45 45 26 50 70, jh@symphogen.com

Katja Stout, Northbank Communications: +44 207 886 8153, k.stout@northbankcommunications.com





About Symphogen



Symphogen A/S is a biotechnology company pioneering therapeutic products based on natural human antibodies for the treatment and prevention of human disease. By use of its proprietary technologies Symphogen aims to develop and eventually market unique antibody-based products with an antibody composition that mimics the diversity, affinity, and specificity of the natural human immune system. Generation of antibody drug candidates is achieved using the SymplexTM technology. The selected lead drug candidate may be polyclonal or monoclonal, depending on the nature of the target. For development and manufacturing of polyclonal antibody drug candidates, designated symphobodies, the Company applies its proprietary expression platform, the SympressTM technology, which allows consistent manufacturing of recombinant polyclonal antibody compositions. Symphobodies offer a number of advantages over current plasma-derived immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of diseases characterized by complex target antigens, such as those found in infectious diseases, allergy, transplant rejection, and cancer. Collectively, Symphogen's technologies offer best in class antibody therapeutics against both simple and complex target antigens. The commercial potential of symphobodies is expected to be very significant.

Web site: www.symphogen.com

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Symphogen A/S and its investors with respect to the Company's performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may vary significantly.