Androclus Therapeutics Announces Patent For Heat Shock Protein Derived Peptides Licensed From University Of California.

SAN DIEGO -- Androclus Therapeutics announced that a U.S. Patent No. 6,989,146 entitled "Stress Proteins and Peptides and Methods of Use Thereof" was granted on January 24, 2006. The inventors are Dr. Salvatore Albani and Dr. Berent Prakken. The patent is assigned to the University of California and has been exclusively licensed to Androclus Therapeutics. E[acute accent]The patent describes HLA pan DR peptides derived from heat shock proteins (hsp) and methods for using such peptides to modulate, block or inhibit immune responses for treatment of immune mediated conditions, such as autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. E[acute accent]Androclus Therapeutics is developing such hsp-derived peptides as a new generation of safer, more selective, orally administered therapies for the treatment of autoimmune inflammation. The mechanism of action relies on selectively changing -- from inflammatory to regulatory -- immune system's T cell response to a set of antigens that play a major role in regulating autoimmune inflammation. The treatment selectively down-regulates autoimmune inflammation, while preserving a physiological ability of the immune system to fight other diseases, such as infection and cancer. E[acute accent]"This patent further strengthens Androclus' leadership in developing novel therapies that can help patients control autoimmune inflammation without compromising key functions of the immune system," said Igor P. Bilinsky, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Androclus Therapeutics.

E[acute accent]About University of California, San Diego 

E[acute accent]University of California, San Diego (UCSD), one of the ten campuses in the world-renowned University of California system, has rapidly achieved the status as one of the top institutions in the nation for higher education and research. UCSD faculty and alumnae have spun-off close to 200 local companies, including over a third of the region's biotech companies. UCSD's total research funding for 2004-05 was $728.3 million. The National Science Foundation ranks UCSD seventh in the nation in federal research and development expenditures. For more information about University of California, San Diego, please visit its website at http://www.ucsd.edu.

E[acute accent]About Androclus Therapeutics

E[acute accent]Androclus Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class selective therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), based on a proprietary epitope-specific immunotherapy technology platform. Androclus' leading drug candidate is an orally administered hsp-derived peptide AT-001 (dnaJP1) for the treatment of RA that completed a Phase II clinical trial in Q3 2005. E[acute accent]For more information, visit Androclus' web site at www.androclus.com.