Euroscreen Licenses Patent Rights for CCR5 Antibodies from ICOS

Euroscreen s.a. (Euroscreen") today announced it has acquired an exclusive license from ICOS Corporation (ICOS") (Nasdaq: ICOS) for key patent rights relating to antibodies against the natural sequence of the human CCR5 receptor. Euroscreen and ICOS had previously combined their other patent rights relating to the CCR5 receptor. Euroscreen took on responsibility for sublicensing the resulting combined CCR5 patent portfolio to biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners for commercialization.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (PRWEB) June 18, 2004 --- Euroscreen s.a. (Euroscreen") today announced it has acquired an exclusive license from ICOS Corporation (ICOS") (Nasdaq: ICOS) for key patent rights relating to antibodies against the natural sequence of the human CCR5 receptor. Euroscreen and ICOS had previously combined their other patent rights relating to the CCR5 receptor. Euroscreen took on responsibility for sublicensing the resulting combined CCR5 patent portfolio to biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners for commercialization.

The CCR5 receptor plays a central role in the mechanism by which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) binds to and enters white blood cells, and therefore represents a key target in the search for effective novel treatments for HIV infection and AIDS. Antibody therapy is one potential approach to blocking HIV entry as an AIDS therapy.

The Combined CCR5 Patent Portfolio of ICOS and Euroscreen (U.S.6,265,184; U.S.6,268,477; U.S.6,448,375 and U.S.6,692,938 and foreign counterparts) and additional pending patent applications include claims that cover the DNA and wild-type human protein sequence of the human CCR5 receptor, the mutant versions of the receptor as well as the rights to antibodies against these wild-type and mutant sequences and the use of the wild-type CCR5 receptor sequence for the screening of agonists and antagonists for use in the treatment of HIV infection.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Vincent Lannoy, Euroscreens Intellectual Property Manager, indicated: This addition will enable Euroscreen to now offer the rights to companies who are developing therapeutic antibodies as well as other types of drugs that block the ability of HIV to bind to the CCR5 receptor.

The CCR5 receptor and its role in HIV infection
The CCR5 receptor belongs to a family of cell membrane proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Specifically, CCR5 is found on the surface of T cells (white blood cells), which form part of the human immune system. The protein consists of 352 amino acids and spans the T-cell membrane seven times.

Under normal circumstances, CCR5 binds certain proteins known as chemokines, which act as chemical attractants recruiting immune cells to sites of inflammation. However, in the process of HIV infection, CCR5 acts as a crucial co-receptor, in addition to CD4 (the primary docking site of HIV), to allow HIV not just to bind to T cells but also to fuse with the cell membrane. Fusion of HIV to the T-cell membrane enables the viral genetic material to enter the cell and integrate with the hosts genome.

The initial involvement of a chemokine receptor in the process of HIV infection was suspected when certain chemokines were found to be potent suppressors of HIVs ability to infect cells. Following the identification of CCR5, it was discovered that a reason for the natural immunity of some people to HIV was a result of a 32 base-pair deletion in the CCR5 gene sequence, which resulted in the production of a non-functional CCR5 receptor.

The potential of CCR5 as a key target for anti-HIV therapies in presently in human clinical trials from a number of companies and may also have application in the treatment of other disorders such as Graft versus Host disease.

About Euroscreen SA
Euroscreen is a world leader in G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The Company integrates its research expertise in this area with its patented high-throughput AequoScreen cellular assay platform to 'deorphanize' GPCRs, i.e. to identify new ligands of GPCRs that might form the basis of new therapeutics.

The Company is building its own patent portfolio of GPCR targets and novel drug leads for licensing to biopharmaceutical companies, and to date has agreements with Galapagos Genomics, ICOS, Merck & Co, Pfizer Inc, Solvay, Syngenta and UCB. Euroscreen has also established collaborations with academic centers, such as Brussels University, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the University of Georgia Research Foundation and the University of Toronto, for access to its GPCR-based products (recombinant cell lines and membrane preparations) and services (custom screening and cloning).

Euroscreen is a privately held company based in Brussels, Belgium. The Company was spun out of the University of Brussels in 1994 by Professors Jacques Dumont, Marc Parmentier and Gilbert Vassart and has since raised more than €8m in equity funding and grants. Euroscreen currently has 80 employees of which 50 are in R&D.

More information can be found at www.euroscreen.be

For further information, please contact:
Euroscreen s.a.   
Vincent Lannoy, Ph.D.       
Intellectual Property Manager
Tel: +32 71 348 500      
vlannoy@euroscreen.be