VOX Vox Valor Capital Limited

RNS Number:4648V
VASTox plc
25 April 2007

                                   VASTox plc
                          ("VASTox" or "the Company")


                         TUBERCULOSIS PROGRAMME UPDATE



       VASTOX IDENTIFIES NOVEL COMPOUNDS THAT KILL TUBERCULOSIS BACTERIA



Oxford, UK, 25 April 2007 - VASTox plc (AIM: VOX), a leading UK biotechnology
company, reports positive results in its tuberculosis ("TB") drug discovery
programme.  The Company has identified from its proprietary screening libraries
several novel series' of small, drug-like molecules that show high levels of in
vitro efficacy against the bacterium that causes TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The results from these efficacy studies against M. tuberculosis have been
validated in three world-class laboratories in both the UK and US.



TB remains a serious global health issue with over one third of the World's
population suspected to be infected with the disease.  It is over 30 years since
the last new medicine to treat TB was launched and there is an increasingly
urgent need for the development of new medicines.



VASTox's TB programme targets N-acetyltransferase ("NAT"), an enzyme implicated
in the growth of M. tuberculosis.  VASTox has shown that compounds which inhibit
the target enzyme are also active against M. tuberculosis resulting in cell
death and therefore these positive results provide support for the Company's
novel approach towards the development of new TB medicines.



VASTox's TB programme is part of its anti-infectives focus, which is one of the
Company's core areas of expertise.  Following the success of these initial
screens, a chemical optimisation programme has begun with the aim of further
enhancing the efficacy of the identified compounds.  VASTox has already
increased the value of the active compounds through safety and toxicity
screening in the Company's market-leading zebrafish technology platform, in
advance of a series of in vivo studies planned for Q4 of 2007.



The Company is also protecting its intellectual property in this programme by
the filing of a number of patents that will create a strong patent estate around
this increasingly valuable programme.



VASTox is actively seeking both commercial and charitable organisations to help
support and fund the development of this discovery programme.



Steven Lee, PhD, CEO of VASTox, commented: "This programme is making exciting
progress and to have identified novel compounds that kill the bacteria that
causes TB is a positive step towards the development of new therapies to treat
this disease.  The results from these in vitro experiments and compound screens
will add to the commercial attractiveness of this programme as we seek funding
opportunities to support the future development of the programme."



                                    - ends -


For more information please contact:


VASTox

Steven Lee, PhD, Chief Executive Officer             Tel: +44 (0)1235 443951
Richard Storer, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer


Citigate Dewe Rogerson                               Tel: +44 (0)207 638 9571
Mark Swallow / David Dible / Valerie Auffray



About VASTox plc



VASTox is a leading UK biotechnology company that discovers and develops
proprietary new drugs. The Company's internal drug development programmes are
underpinned by its advanced chemistry and drug screening (chemical genomics)
technology platforms, which it also provides on a collaborative or
fee-for-service basis to the pharmaceutical industry.



VASTox has a broad range of drug discovery programmes in the clinical,
pre-clinical and discovery stages of development, which target serious diseases
with a high unmet medical need. These therapeutic areas include neuro-disorders
(neurodegenerative and neuromuscular), anti-infectives, ophthalmic diseases,
oncology and regenerative medicines.



VASTox's in-house drug development capabilities combine world-class expertise in
both medicinal and carbohydrate chemistry with high-volume, high-content
screening using its proprietary zebrafish and fruitfly technologies (chemical
genomics). These whole organism screens have the potential to dramatically
decrease the time and cost of drug discovery and development by delivering data
that are highly predictive of the efficacy and toxicity of potential drug
compounds in humans.



The company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October
2004 - symbol: VOX



Further information about the company is available at www.vastox.com



This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates", "intends", "plans",
"seeks", "believes", "estimates", "expects" and similar references to future
periods, or by the inclusion of forecasts or projections.



Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and
assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions.
Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature, they
are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that
are difficult to predict. The Company's actual results may differ materially
from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions
you therefore that you should not rely on any of these forward-looking
statements as statements of historical fact or as guarantees or assurances of
future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements and regional, national,
global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory
conditions.




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

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