MediGene Gains Experienced Team of Scientists for the Further Development of the New EndoTAG(TM) Products

20-Sep-2004

The German-American biotech company MediGene AG has hired a strong team of scientists for the further development of the newly acquired EndoTAG(TM) products for anti-cancer treatment. This team will be supplemented by additional MediGene experts.

Dr. Uwe Michaelis, former Executive Board Member for Research & Development at Munich Biotech AG, joins MediGene as Head of Research. Dr. Michaelis holds a PhD in biology and has obtained twelve years of research experience in the pharmaceuticals and biotech industries, he held relevant positions at Boehringer Manheim (now Roche Diagnostics) for seven years. As Vice President Research, Dr. Michaelis will report directly to MediGene's newly appointed Executive Board Member for Research & Development, Dr. Ulrich Delvos. In addition to Dr. Michaelis, MediGene has been able to gain 12 further highly qualified experts from the former Munich Biotech AG with broad expertise in the EndoTAG(TM) technology. Munich Biotech has developed several anti-cancer drug candidates on the basis of the EndoTAG(TM) technology. MediGene had acquired the technology and products from Munich Biotech in August 2004. Now MediGene has created the setting for an immediate continuation of the development of the acquired products.

Dr. Peter Heinrich, Chief Executive Officer of MediGene AG, comments: "With the formation of the EndoTAG(TM) team, MediGene will attain excellent new employees with specialized expertise. This will facilitate a fast and goal-oriented further development of our new products and further strengthen the comprehensive know-how in our company."

The EndoTAG(TM) team members will enrich MediGene's process development/production, preclinical, chemical analysis, quality assurance, research and project management departments. With the new employees, MediGene's headcount will rise by 12 % to 120. This will not affect the company's results forecast for 2004, of -15 million Euros with sales of 12 million Euros.

MediGene's new EndoTAG(TM) drug candidates such as EndoTAG-1 (previously MBT-0206) aim at a novel method of cancer therapy by "starving out" tumors. They utilize the already approved and applied therapy of anti-angiogenesis (suppressing tumor vascularization), while adding a further and unique activity: the cutting-edge carrier system of lipid complexes facilitates a novel application method of established cytostatic drugs (e.g. Taxane), intended to cause specific attachment and destruction of tumor blood vessels ("neovascular targeting"). After the compilation of a development plan, MediGene will immediately continue clinical development of the drug candidate EndoTAG-1 which has already undergone several clinical phase 1 trials in different cancer indications.

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