AGTC Announces License Agreement with Johns Hopkins University.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

ALACHUA, Fla.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 20, 2002

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, AGTC, a gene therapy company located in Alachua, Florida, announces completion of a license agreement with Johns Hopkins University for use of Adeno-Associated Virus, AAV, gene therapy vectors in muscle tissue.

Completion of the licensure agreement gives AGTC the right to develop the AAV technology for injection into human muscle tissues for potential therapy of Alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AD) deficiency and Pompe's disease.

A1AD is a hereditary defect that causes early emphysema in adults. A1AD is the most common potentially lethal hereditary disease of American and Northern European adults affecting approximately one in 2500 individuals. Pompe's disease is a hereditary defect causing fatal cardiomyopathy in children. It is one form of a lysosomal storage disorder in the gene producing alpha glucosidase and affects one in 100,000 infants.

AAV vectors treating A1AD and Pompe's are two of several novel gene therapy treatments, for both human and veterinary uses, that AGTC is developing.

On September 24, 2001 AGTC received phase one venture funding from PrimBio Tech, SAS, of Paris, France. The six million dollar investment will be used by AGTC to complete pre-clinical toxicology studies and Phase I Human Clinical Trials for A1AD and to complete the development of its proprietary, large scale AAV production method.

Based in the University of Florida's Biotechnology Development Incubator (BDI), AGTC, is a biotechnology company involved in the development of gene therapy products using its proprietary AAV technology and production methods.