CAT Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund Limited

RNS Number:9061X
Cambridge Antibody Tech Group PLC
03 February 2006


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


13.00 GMT, 08.00 EST Friday 3 February 2006

For further information contact:             
                                             
Cambridge Antibody Technology               Weber Shandwick Square Mile (Europe)
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 471 471                              Tel: +44 (0) 20 7067 0700
Peter Chambre, Chief Executive Officer                               Kevin Smith
John Aston, Chief Financial Officer                             Yvonne Alexander
Rowena Gardner, Director of Corporate Communications               Rachel Taylor
                                                    
                                        BMC Communications/The Trout Group (USA)
                                                           Tel: 001 212 477 9007
                                                      Brad Miles, ext 17 (media)
                                               Brandon Lewis, ext 15 (investors)

CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY GROUP PLC: STATEMENT RE: Q1 2006 FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc (LSE: CAT, NASDAQ:
CATG) today issues this explanatory statement in relation to the first quarter
2006 figures which will be released on Monday 6 February 2006.

CAT's Annual Report for the financial year ended 30 September 2005 was completed
and signed on 28 November 2005 and the auditors, Deloitte & Touche LLP,
(Deloitte) reported on the financial statements contained in the Annual Report
as of that date. In addition to CAT's UK GAAP financial statements, the 2005
Annual Report also contained preliminary reconciliations to International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which were also reported on by Deloitte.

Since that date, there has been continuing debate within the accounting
profession as to the interpretation of IFRS and, in particular, its relationship
with US GAAP and, to a lesser extent, UK GAAP. As a consequence of this debate,
Deloitte have informed CAT that they have altered their view on the
interpretation and application of IFRS as it relates to the treatment of the
US$255 million payment received from Abbott in October 2005 and paid out
immediately to CAT's licensors as a part of the litigation settlement with 
Abbott in respect of HUMIRA(R). Previously this receipt and subsequent payment 
were accounted for in the same manner as the remainder of the litigation 
settlement with Abbott, as an adjusting post balance sheet event, and therefore 
included in revenue and direct costs in both the 2005 UK GAAP financial 
statements and the preliminary IFRS reconciliations. Deloitte's revised 
interpretation and application of IFRS to these payments is that they should be 
treated as a non-adjusting post balance sheet event.

Under this revised interpretation and application of IFRS, the US$255m (#144.7m)
received from Abbott and paid out to CAT's licensors in October 2005 would not
be included in 2005 revenues and 2005 direct costs. Accordingly, CATs financial
statements for its 2006 financial year (which will be prepared under IFRS) will
include recognition of revenue and a direct cost in respect of these payments.

It should be emphasised that this is simply a technical accounting adjustment
and there are no implications for cash flow or operating loss.

Consequential on this revised interpretation and application of IFRS, CAT's
Annual Report on Form 20F which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission in the United States in respect of financial year ended 30 September
2005 will contain adjustments to UK GAAP numbers in respect of the matter
referred to above so as to show consistency of treatment between US GAAP, UK
GAAP and IFRS.

                                     - ENDS -

Notes to Editors:

Business:
   * CAT is a biopharmaceutical company, aiming to bring improvements to
     seriously ill patients' lives and thereby create outstanding returns for
     shareholders. CAT seeks to develop products independently and in
     collaboration with partners, using its capabilities and technologies in the
     discovery and development of new and innovative antibody medicines in
     selected therapeutic areas. CAT also seeks to licence its technologies to
     enable others to develop new medicines.

Products:
   * HUMIRA(R), licensed to Abbott, is the first CAT-derived antibody to be
     approved for marketing. It was isolated and optimised in collaboration with
     Abbott and has been approved for marketing as a treatment for rheumatoid 
     arthritis (RA) in 57 countries, and for psoriatic arthritis and early RA in 
     some European countries and the US.

   * There are six further CAT-derived antibodies licensed to partners at
     various stages of clinical development: ABT-874 (Abbott), LymphoStat-B(TM),
     HGS-ETR1, HGS-ETR2, ABthrax(TM) (all Human Genome Sciences (HGSI)) and MYO-029
     (Wyeth). CAT has also licensed its proprietary technologies and patents to
     several companies. CAT's licensees include Amgen, Chugai, Dyax, Genzyme,
     HGSI, Merck & Co, Micromet, Pfizer and Wyeth, and three antibody drug
     candidates are in clinical development at patent licensees.

   * There are three further human therapeutic product candidates in clinical
     development: CAT-354 and CAT-3888, proprietary CAT products, and GC-1008, 
     in collaboration with Genzyme.

Collaborations:
   * CAT has a broad collaboration with Genzyme for the development and
     commercialisation of antibodies directed against TGF beta, a family of 
     proteins associated with fibrosis and scarring, and with potential 
     application in  the treatment of some cancers.

   * CAT has a major strategic alliance with AstraZeneca to discover and
     develop human antibody therapeutics, principally in inflammatory disorders.
     This provides CAT with the opportunity to build a substantial pipeline of
     antibody therapeutics with a significant pharmaceutical partner.

   * CAT has a co-development collaboration with Zenyth against GM-CSF
     Receptor, a potential drug target in the development of RA.

Science:
   * CAT has an advanced proprietary technology for rapidly isolating human
     monoclonal antibodies using Phage Display and Ribosome Display systems. CAT
     has extensive phage antibody libraries, currently incorporating more than
     100 billion distinct antibodies, which form the basis for the Company's
     strategy to develop a portfolio of antibody-based drugs.

Business Background:
   * CAT is based near Cambridge, UK, with a new site in Palo Alto, USA. CAT
     currently employs around 290 people.
   * CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange (CAT) and on NASDAQ (CATG).
   * More information can be found at www.cambridgeantibody.com

Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: This press release contains statements about Cambridge Antibody
Technology Group plc ("CAT") that are forward looking statements. All statements
other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may be
forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These forward looking statements are based on numerous
assumptions regarding the company's present and future business strategies and
the environment in which the company will operate in the future. Certain factors
that could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to
differ materially from those in the forward looking statements include: market
conditions, CAT's ability to enter into and maintain collaborative arrangements,
success of product candidates in clinical trials, regulatory developments and
competition. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward
looking statements contained in this press release. These statements speak only
as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update
or revise the statements.







                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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