New Trial Demonstrates Striking Results of Britannia Pharmaceuticals' New Asthma Treatment; Pumactant Abolishes Early Asthmatic Responses in All Subjects in Trial.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

ATLANTA and LONDON--(BW HealthWire)--May 20, 2002

Results of a study presented yesterday at the American Thoracic Society's 89th international conference in Atlanta, Georgia show that the new drug Pumactant, developed by Britannia Pharmaceuticals Limited in the UK, has the potential to be a significant therapy in the prevention of asthma for the millions of sufferers worldwide. Therapy consists of an inhaled dry powder that increases the ability of the lungs to protect themselves from irritants.

The clinical trial was carried out at the University of Southampton School of Medicine by a team of researchers led by Dr. Joy Conway and Professor Stephen Holgate.

"What we've seen in this initial trial is extremely exciting," said Professor Holgate. "Based upon our current understanding of the important role that natural surfactant has in protecting against asthma, Pumactant has great potential to be a powerful new asthma treatment and improve the lives of millions of people globally. After seeing the dramatic responses in this study, we believe Pumactant will be very influential in protecting asthma sufferers from not only allergens, but a variety of irritants that exacerbate respiratory distress."

The Phase II trial was a randomized, single blind, prospective, cross-over study conducted to evaluate the effects of Pumactant on early and late asthmatic responses in seven patients with allergic asthma, produced by exposure to allergens. All were non-smokers with a history of mild asthma.

Subjects were randomised to receive either inhaled Pumactant or a placebo before receiving a standard bronchial provocation test, inhaling five breaths of increasing concentrations of allergens. In each of the subjects, the early airway narrowing with associated shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough, occurring within 15 minutes of inhaling the allergen - was completely abolished in all subjects. In each of the subjects tested, Pumactant had no notable side effects.

Formulation on Pumactant was carried out at the University of Bath. "I believe the prospects for Pumactant in airways diseases like asthma are bright," said Professor John Staniforth, Bath University. "In collaboration with Britannia, we managed to produce a formulation that delivered 100mg of respirable Pumactant into the lungs. The attraction of Pumactant is that it is a dry powder with a huge spreading potential from dry state to first wetting and its zero toxicological baseline."

A common feature of respiratory distress is a dysfunction of the surface coating, or surfactant, in the lungs. The body's natural surfactant is a complex mixture of phospholipids, neutral lipids and proteins that protects lung tissue. Pumactant is a mixture of two of the naturally occurring phospholipids--Dipalmitoylphosphatidycholine (DPPC) and Phosphatidyl Glycerol (PG).

"Asthma can be very difficult to treat since many asthma medications have negative side-effects and can be quite costly," said Maxwell Noble, Managing Director of Britannia Pharmaceuticals. "Pumactant works on entirely different principles to those of current asthma medications on the market. We are very proud and excited to be involved in working to improve the lives of millions of people suffering from this debilitating condition. Pumactant is one of our key technology platforms and we are currently looking for partners to join us in the development of Pumactant for asthma."

Pumactant was originally developed by Britannia in 1987 as a lung surfactant for Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome and licensed in the UK as ALEC(R). In keeping with Britannia's mission to find new uses for existing therapeutic molecules, the company has reformulated and re-developed the product for the prevention of post-operative surgical adhesions as well as asthma.

About Britannia Pharmaceuticals

Founded in 1981 Britannia Pharmaceuticals Limited is a United Kingdom based pharmaceutical firm whose mission is to become a leading supplier of innovative products for niche medical conditions. The company has pioneered new treatments for some of the world's most debilitating conditions including asthma, Parkinson's disease, drug addiction, erectile dysfunction and surgical adhesions. In addition to these treatments, Britannia has also developed nasal and respiratory drug delivery technology that are applicable to a range of treatments. Britannia is a Forum Group Company. Britannia's website address is www.britannia-pharm.co.uk.