Home Investors News Press Releases 2005 Cyclacel And ALTANA Pharma Announce Collaboration On Mitotic Target Identification

Cyclacel And ALTANA Pharma Announce Collaboration On Mitotic Target Identification

Dundee, U.K., and Konstanz, Germany - 16 March 2005 - Cyclacel Group plc (“Cyclacel”), the cell cycle-based biopharmaceutical company, announced today execution of a research collaboration agreement with ALTANA Pharma AG, the pharmaceutical division of ALTANA AG (NYSE: AAA, FSE: ALT), in which Cyclacel will use its expertise in mitosis or cell division to identify the molecular targets of specific ALTANA Pharma experimental drugs.

Under the terms of the agreement ALTANA Pharma will supply Cyclacel with selected experimental molecules shown to interfere with mitosis. Scientists at Cyclacel’s Polgen Division in Cambridge, UK, where the work will be undertaken, will apply their knowledge of mitosis biology combined with Cyclacel’s Drosophila RNA interference library to identify the targets of the ALTANA Pharma molecules. Knowledge of the drug targets will enable ALTANA Pharma to accelerate the development of drug candidates. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Cyclacel scientists have built up extensive and proprietary knowledge of the changes induced in cancer cells or their phenotype following inhibition of hundreds of mitosis targets. This knowledge resulted from a high-throughput whole genome screen in the Drosophila fruit fly model of cancer which identified a large number of genes that regulate cell division. The whole genome screening project was conducted under the leadership of Professor David Glover, Chief Scientist of Cyclacel’s Polgen Division and Chairman of Genetics, University of Cambridge, an investigator with a worldwide reputation in the field of mitosis and cancer genetics.

Professor David Glover, Chief Scientist of Cyclacel’s Polgen Division, said: “ALTANA Pharma scientists have discovered compounds that are very active in blocking cells in mitosis and seem to have novel mechanisms of action. Using our Drosophila RNAi technology we are able to identify patterns of changes seen in cells after interfering with individual proteins. Our technology enables us to compare these patterns with changes caused by drugs active in mitosis, such as the ALTANA Pharma compounds, and in this way identify the drugs’ mechanism of action or how they affect cancer cells.”

Dr. Karl Sanders, Senior Director, Therapeutic Area Oncology at ALTANA Pharma, said: “We identified clusters of compounds that interfere with mitosis of cancer cells. Before we progress our lead compounds into development, it is important to understand their precise molecular targets within cells. We searched for a partner with a specific mastery of mitosis mechanisms and found the expertise we were looking for in Cyclacel. Under the leadership of Professor Glover, Cyclacel has developed unique technology to identify the mechanism of anticancer drugs active in mitosis.”

About Cyclacel ( www.cyclacel.com )
Cyclacel is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, mechanism-targeted drugs to treat human cancers and other serious disorders. The company is currently evaluating seliciclib (CYC202), an orally-available Cyclin Dependent Kinase inhibitor, in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and B-cell hematological malignancies. CYC682 is an orally-available, cell cycle modulating nucleoside analog in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. Cyclacel has eight additional programs at preclinical stages.

About ALTANA Pharma AG (www.altanapharma.com)
ALTANA Pharma AG is the pharmaceutical division of ALTANA AG, headquartered in Konstanz, Germany. The international pharmaceutical group employs more than 8,200 people in 30 subsidiaries and is present in markets in Europe, North and South America, Asia, South Africa and Australia. In 2004, the company achieved sales of about €2.1 billion, up 7% from 2003. ALTANA Pharma concentrates on innovative pharmaceutical products in therapeutics, imaging (contrast media) and OTC medication. Therapeutics, the most important business area, is based on prescription drugs for gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Research focuses on gastroenterology, respiratory/inflammation and oncology.

Contacts for further information:

Cyclacel:	+44 (1382) 206 062
Spiro Rombotis, Chief Executive Officer
Paul McBarron, Chief Financial Officer
Buchanan Communications:	+44 (20) 7466 5000
Mark Court/Tim Anderson/Mary-Jane Johnson
Feinstein Kean Healthcare:	(617) 577 - 8110
Robert Gottlieb
ALTANA Pharma AG:	+49 (0) 7531 840
Mirko Meier-Rentrop, Corporate Communications

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