Coley Pharmaceutical Group Receives Ninth U.S. Patent

http://www.newswire.ca/releases/July2002/09/c3482.html

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Attention Business And Medical Editors:

    
       -- Patent covers use of CpG oligos in combination with adjuvants
                        to enhance immune responses --
    
    WELLESLEY, Mass., OTTAWA and LANGENFELD, Germany, July 9 /CNW/ --
Coley Pharmaceutical Group today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 6,406,705, providing composition claims for
CpG immunostimulants in combination with adjuvants.  The newly issued patent
broadens coverage for Coley's proprietary CpG oligonucleotide products to
include combinations with conventional adjuvants.  The compositions are useful
for inducing antigen specific immune responses.
    "This patent establishes our intellectual property position relative to
synergistic combinations of immunostimulants to produce the broadest possible
immune responses to an antigen, particularly in individuals who may not
respond normally to vaccination," said Robert L. Bratzler, Coley's President
and Chief Executive Officer.  He further commented, "About 5-10 percent of the
general population does not respond adequately to vaccination, and this
percentage can approach 50 percent in certain groups, including dialysis
patients, HIV-infected individuals, and older or immunosuppressed individuals.
Our preclinical primate studies have shown that CpG immunostimulants, in
combination with hepatitis B vaccine, induced protective immunity where
conventional adjuvants could not.  The combination, may therefore, improve
vaccine efficacy and allow hyporesponsive individuals to develop immunity to
infections such as Hepatitis B."
    Coley's lead product candidate, CpG 7909, is currently in a Phase II
clinical trial testing its efficacy in improving the immune response of
hyporesponders to Engerix B, a commercially available hepatitis vaccine.
    The newly-issued patent, entitled "Use of Nucleic Acids Containing
Unmethylated CpG Dinucleotide as an Adjuvant" provides for a composition of at
least one oligonucleotide containing at least one unmethylated CpG
oligonucleotide with a non-nucleic acid adjuvant. The patent also optionally
includes an antigen which may be selected from a broad group of antigens such
as peptides, cells, cell extracts, polysaccharides, lipids, and carbohydrates,
including allergens and tumor antigens.  Inventors named on the patent include
Heather Davis, Ph.D., Managing Director of Coley, Canada, Arthur Krieg, M.D.,
Coley's Chief Scientific Officer, and Joachim Schorr, Ph.D., Chairman of
Coley's Board of Directors.
    
    CpG Oligonucleotides
    Coley's product candidates are CpG oligonucleotides, a family of molecules
that mimic the immunostimulatory properties of bacterial DNA.  CpG oligos
preferentially activate Th1-type immune responses, the responses required to
fight viral and bacterial infections and cancer cells.  Th1 immune responses
are required for the development of effective long-term immunity in response
to vaccination with antigens and once generated, persist over time and react
quickly should the infecting pathogen be encountered again.
    
    About Coley Pharmaceutical Group
    Coley Pharmaceutical Group is developing a new class of drugs with broad
potential applications in cancer, asthma, allergy and infectious diseases.
These proprietary product candidates, based on CpG oligonucleotides, activate
the human immune system to fight disease.  Coley currently has Phase I and
Phase II clinical trials ongoing and has established a novel Human Cell
Screening drug discovery and development platform for the rapid validation and
optimization of new product candidates.  Coley has a product development and
licensing agreement with Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for the development of
CpG products in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis, as well as a
license agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for the use of certain CpG product
candidates in specified preventive and therapeutic infectious disease
vaccines.  Coley's patent portfolio includes 55 U.S. patents and patent
applications and their worldwide counterparts, including 9 U.S. patents that
have been issued.  Coley is a private company with operations in the United
States, Germany and Canada.  For further information, please visit
www.coleypharma.com.
    
     Contact:
     Patricia F. Dimond, Ph.D.
     VP, Corporate Communications
     Strategic Development
     Coley Pharmaceutical Group
     +1.781.431.9000 x1257
     pdimondcoleypharma.com
    
     Beth Preston
     Feinstein Kean Healthcare (U.S.)
     +1.617.577.8110
     eprestonfkhealth.com
    
     Michael Sinclair or Fay Weston
     Burns McClellan (Europe)
     +44.20.7534.1520
     fwestonburnsmc.co.uk
    



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For further information:  Patricia F. Dimond, Ph.D., VP, Corporate
Communications,  Strategic Development of Coley Pharmaceutical Group,
+1-781-431-9000 x1257,  pdimond@coleypharma.com; or Beth Preston of
Feinstein Kean Healthcare, +1-617-  577-8110, epreston@fkhealth.com; or
Michael Sinclair or Fay Weston,  fweston@burnsmc.co.uk of Burns McClellan,
+44-20-7534-1520
    /Web site:  http://www.coleypharma.com

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