Cytel to Develop Theradigm technology as AIDS treatment under $3.3 million grant from National Institutes of Health.SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 1995--Cytel Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : CYTL) announced today that it has been awarded a Strategic Programs for Innovative Research on Aids Treatment (SPIRAT) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH "Not invented here." See digispeak. NIH - The United States National Institutes of Health. ) to conduct research on the development of its Theradigm technology as a peptide-based immunotherapeutic vaccine for HIV-1 infection. The SPIRAT grant, totaling $3.3 million over a four year period, is awarded by the NIH through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID NIAID National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. ). The award period commenced September 1, 1995. The grant will fund a multi-project program, to include human clinical trials, aimed at developing an immunotherapeutic vaccine to control or eradicate chronic retroviral infection through the induction of virus-specific killer T-cells (cytotoxic T lymphocytes). Of the total grant award, $1.8 million will be directed to Cytel to support development of the Theradigm-based vaccine for use in the program. The remaining $1.5 million will be directed to AIDS investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital Health care The major teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, widely regarded as one of the best health care centers in the world , led by Drs. Bruce Walker and Deborah Cotton, where the cytotoxic T cell cytotoxic T cell n. See killer cell. response of HIV-infected "long term" survivors will be characterized and clinical trials will be conducted. Cytel's Theradigm technology consists of a construct comprised of antigenic peptides which can be recognized by and stimulate disease-specific CTLs, and a modular method of delivering the peptides to the immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. . By substituting peptides appropriate for specific diseases, in this case HIV-1, the Company will attempt to develop a therapeutic for HIV-infected individuals. Using this modular technology, the Company's strategy is to develop therapeutics for a variety of chronic infectious diseases and cancer. Cytel's lead compound in this program is Theradigm-HBV, which is being evaluated in Phase II clinical trials for its ability to activate CTLs that can specifically recognize hepatitis-infected liver cells and stop replication of the hepatitis B Hepatitis B Definition Hepatitis B is a potentially serious form of liver inflammation due to infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It occurs in both rapidly developing (acute) and long-lasting (chronic) forms, and is one of the most common chronic virus. "We are very excited about the opportunity to combine our technology and expertise with that of the investigators at Massachusetts General who are leaders in the AIDS field," stated Robert W. Chesnut, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Development, Immune Stimulation Program. "Together we will be working to characterize the HIV-specific CTL See control key. 1. CTL - Checkout Test language. 2. CTL - Compiler Target Language. 3. CTL - Computational Tree Logic response in those relatively rare individuals who are HIV-infected but do not progress to develop AIDS, and then apply our Theradigm technology attempting to duplicate a CTL response in the majority of HIV-infected patients who normally progress to develop AIDS." The SPIRAT grant brings to $4.3 million the total amount of grant funding awarded to Cytel in 1995 to explore additional applications of its Theradigm technology. During the year, three additional NIH grants were awarded to Cytel to support development of immunotherapeutic vaccines for the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, and for prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. . A fourth grant was awarded from the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). to conduct research on development of a peptide-based immunotherapy for breast cancer. Cytel Corporation, founded in 1987, is a leader in the discovery, design and development of immunotherapeutics, a new class of drugs which the Company believes will be more selective and have fewer side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. than drugs currently on the market. Utilizing Cytel's advanced understanding of the immune system's operation both in disease and in health, the Company is developing drug candidates under two distinct approaches: the cell adhesion program is directed to the suppression of an inappropriate immune response to treat inflammatory diseases, and the immune stimulation program is directed to the development of therapeutic vaccines to treat infectious diseases and cancers. CONTACT: Cytel Corporation, San Diego Karin Eastham Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (619) 552-3000 |
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