PrimaBioMed achieves clinical advancement and patent expansion in 2002.

2002 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PrimaBioMed, Ltd., the cancer and immunotherapy research and therapeutic development company, reviewed fiscal 2002, its first full year as a public company.

CEO Marcus Clark commented that 2002 was a year of great achievement for Prima, characterized by significant clinical advances and an expanding intellectual property portfolio. "We have made great strides in developing our four existing technologies and have been highly successful in securing patent protection and strong patent positions as we progress.

"Our model of a strong management team with solid pharmaceutical industry experience, an expert scientific advisory board consisting of world renowned scientists and a strategic relationship with one of the premier research institutes in Australia, the Austin Research Institute, all focused on the near-term commercialization of core technologies, is working."

Prima is focusing its immediate efforts on several ongoing projects in the area of cancer treatment, since this market represents more than $10 billion globally.

Interim clinical trial results from Cancer Vac, the cancer immunotherapy program, reported extremely compelling tumor specific immune responses in a phase I study. As a result, a phase II clinical trial will commence later this year.

Panvax, the company's DCtag vaccine technology, has shown positive results and programs to illustrate protection against parasitic, bacterial, and viral diseases and activity in cancer models are proceeding. The DCtag cancer program includes a collaboration with a U.K.-based biotechnology company, which, if successful, would provide an early licensing opportunity for DCtag.

Oncomab, Prima's anticancer therapeutic monoclonal antibody, has commenced tissue distribution studies to ...