Thursday October 26, 11:48 am Eastern Time
Press Release
Techniclone Expands VTA Patent Position
TUSTIN, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 2000--Techniclone Corporation (NASDAQ:TCLN - news) today announced the issuance of two U.S. Patents No. 6,132,729 and 6,132,730 that cover the use of the coagulation protein truncated tissue factor (tTF) to treat solid tumors.
This technology is related to Techniclone's Vascular Targeting Agent (VTA) technology and is based on the finding that tTF is capable of localizing to tumor blood vessels and inducing coagulation (blood clots) of the tumor blood vessels leading to significant anti-tumor effects.
These new patents encompass the discovery that tTF itself, without a targeting agent, and its ability to coagulate tumor blood vessels. This non-targeted tTF could potentially be used alone, in conjunction with other coagulation proteins or in combination with other anti-cancer agents. The coverage afforded by these new patents complements Techniclone's earlier issued patents directed to cancer treatment methods employing tTF attached to a targeting agent as a VTA molecule. The earlier VTA patents are now part of the Techniclone/OXiGENE joint venture named ARCUS. The new patents referenced in this release are the sole property of Techniclone and could be either developed by Techniclone or licensed to a partner.
``The issued claims are particularly important because they cover cancer therapeutic agents with a mechanism of action closely related to VTAs. We feel that there is potentially a good synergy between this new type of agent and a wide variety of anti-cancer treatments including the VTAs that our joint venture is currently developing. These new agents could generate new product opportunities for Techniclone and further solidify our position in the field of cancer therapeutics.'' stated Mr. Steven King, Vice President of Technology and Product Development at Techniclone and co-inventor on the patents.
Dr. John Bonfiglio, President and CEO of Techniclone was equally positive. ``These new therapeutics utilizing coagulation factors for cancer therapy represent an additional area for development or licensing activities. This fits nicely with our aggressive partnering strategy to maximize the number of commercial opportunities to develop our technologies. Our broad patent coverage gives us the ability to license and collaborate with many partners while maintaining the ability to develop proprietary cancer therapeutics such as Cotara® and VTAs that we are jointly developing through Arcus.''
Safe Harbor Statement: This release may contain certain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations as a result of risk factors discussed in Techniclone's reports on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's reports on Form 10K for the year ended April 30, 2000 and Form 10Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2000.
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Contact:
For Techniclone Corporation:
Cynthia DeMonte, 800/987-8256 or 212/420-0088