BTG Technologies Highlighted At Cancer Research Meeting In Frankfurt, Germany; Compounds targeted against ovarian cancer and the metastatic process.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2002

BTG (LSE: BGC), the global technology commercialization company, announced that data on two of its anti-cancer technologies will be presented at the 14th EORTC/NCI/AACR Symposium on "Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics" being held in Frankfurt this week.

Clinical data on ZD9331, a rationally designed, non-polyglutamatable thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor, will be presented by Prof. Martin Gore and colleagues from The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, London and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Sutton, in Surrey, UK.

Prof. Gore and his team studied the combination of ZD9331 and carboplatin in a Phase I study in relapsed ovarian cancer patients. Findings of the clinical study are the subject of the poster. The trial design was based on preclinical work performed in the laboratory of Prof. Ann Jackman of the ICR.

"In light of the broad sensitivity of human ovarian tumor cell lines to ZD9331 and its lack of cross resistance to platinum based drugs, there is a strong rationale to expect this combination to be effective in treating advanced ovarian cancer patients," said Prof. Jackman.

A second poster presented by Dr. D.J. Mincher, et al from the School of Life Sciences, Napier University, Edinburgh and collaborators from the Cancer Research Unit of the University of Bradford, UK, which is funded by the Cancer Research UK, describes a new class of pro-drugs designed to be converted to active and potent anti-cancer agents by the action of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) overexpressed by certain tumors. Members of the MMP family of enzymes are implicated in the metastatic process, which is responsible for the majority of cancer related deaths.

Unlike the conventional approach of designing a chemotherapeutic that acts as an inhibitor of MMP, this study shows that MMPs can be exploited as a mechanism to selectively activate a pro-drug at the site of the tumor thereby achieving tissue specific drug delivery and an improved therapeutic index.

Both of these posters, and their researchers, can be seen at the conference being held at the Messe Center November 19 through 22. Beginning November 23, the complete abstracts will be available at www.btgplc.com.

About BTG

BTG finds, develops and commercializes emerging technologies in the life and physical sciences. These innovations are protected by a strong portfolio of intellectual property that BTG develops and enhances. BTG then captures the value in these technologies through licensing and venturing activities. From the origins of its business in 1949, BTG has commercialized major innovations such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), recombinant factor IX blood-clotting protein, Campath(R) (alemtuzumab) and Multi Level Cell (MLC) memory. BTG is quoted on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "BGC" and operates from offices in London and Philadelphia, with representation in Tokyo. BTG operates through wholly owned subsidiaries, BTG International Ltd. and BTG International Inc. in the UK and USA respectively. Further information on BTG can be found at www.btgplc.com.