Scancell Holdings Plc Extension to Ichor Commercial Option (6714E)
July 20 2016 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSCLP
RNS Number : 6714E
Scancell Holdings Plc
20 July 2016
20 July 2016
Scancell Holdings Plc
("Scancell" or the "Company")
Extension to Ichor Commercial Option
Scancell Holdings plc, ('Scancell' or the 'Company') the
developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer is
pleased to announce that it has been granted a further extension to
its option to licence the commercial use of Ichor Medical Systems'
("Ichor's") proprietary TriGrid(R) electroporation delivery system
with SCIB1, Scancell's ImmunoBody(R) vaccine for the treatment of
melanoma. In exchange, Scancell has granted a partial waiver over
the lock-up which prohibited the sale, during the two years
following their issue, of ordinary shares in the Company ("Ordinary
Shares") issued pursuant to exercise of the Tranche 2 share options
(over 3,184,620 Ordinary Shares), issued as part payment for the
licence option, as originally announced 16 July 2009 and extended
in July 2014. Subject to exercise of the Tranche 2 share options,
Ichor will remain under an orderly market agreement requiring any
sale of such Ordinary Shares during that two year period to be
effected through Scancell's brokers.
Under the terms of the agreed extension, Scancell's licence
option, which had been due to expire on 13 July 2016, has been
extended until 13 July 2018.
Richard Goodfellow, CEO of Scancell, said:
"Ichor's proprietary TriGrid(R) electroporation delivery system
remains central to our studies on SCIB1 and in particular, to our
upcoming US clinical study of SCIB1 in combination with a
checkpoint inhibitor, expected to commence in 2017. We are
delighted to have extended the licence option agreement to
commercialise their technology on the terms as set out above and we
appreciate Ichor's continued support of our SCIB1 programme as we
continue its clinical development as a potential treatment for
patients with melanoma."
Robert Bernard, President & CEO of Ichor, added:
"Scancell has continued to generate outstanding survival data
using our TriGrid(R) electroporation delivery system in conjunction
with their lead ImmunoBody(R) vaccine, SCIB1. We believe that SCIB1
has the potential to be a significant new treatment option for
patients with melanoma, and we look forward to continuing to work
with Scancell on this exciting product."
For Further Information:
Scancell Holdings Plc
Dr John Chiplin, Executive
Chairman +1 858 900 2646
Dr Richard Goodfellow, Scancell Holdings +44 (0) 20 3727
CEO Plc 1000
Freddy Crossley (Corporate +44 (0) 20 7886
Finance) 2500
Tom Salvesen (Corporate Panmure Gordon +44 (0) 20 7886
Broking) & Co 2500
+44 (0) 20 3727
Mo Noonan/Simon Conway FTI Consulting 1000
About Ichor and the TriGrid(R) Delivery System
Ichor is dedicated to the clinical application and
commercialization of electroporation technology for the delivery of
DNA drugs and vaccines to treat and prevent debilitating or life
threatening diseases. They are applying their proprietary TriGri(R)
Delivery System to enable delivery of DNA drugs to address unmet
medical needs in areas including therapeutic cancer vaccines,
therapeutic proteins and vaccines for serious infectious
disease.
About Scancell
Scancell is developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment
of cancer based on its ImmunoBody(R) and Moditope(R) technology
platforms.
Scancell's first ImmunoBody(R), SCIB1 is being developed for the
treatment of melanoma. Data from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial
demonstrate that SCIB1, when used as monotherapy, has a marked
effect on tumour load, produces a melanoma-specific immune response
and highly encouraging survival trend without serious side effects.
In patients with resected disease there is increasing evidence to
suggest that SCIB1 may delay or prevent disease recurrence.
Scancell's ImmunoBody(R) vaccines target dendritic cells and
stimulate both parts of the cellular immune system: the helper cell
system where inflammation is stimulated at the tumour site and the
cytotoxic T-lymphocyte or CTL response where immune system cells
are primed to recognise and kill specific cells.
Pre-clinical data on a combination of SCIB1 or SCIB2 and
checkpoint inhibition (blockade of the PD-1 or CTLA-4 immune
checkpoint pathways) have shown enhanced tumour destruction and
significantly longer survival times than when either treatment was
used alone.
Scancell has also identified and patented a series of modified
epitopes that stimulate the production of killer CD4+ T cells that
destroy tumours without toxicity. The Directors believe that the
Moditope(R) platform could play a major role in the development of
safe and effective cancer immunotherapies in the future.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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July 20, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)