exciting news, even if i don't understand it.

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KaloBios In-Licenses Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug From The Ludwig Institute for
Cancer Research

PALO ALTO, Calif., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, a
therapeutic antibody company, announced today that it has exclusively
in-licensed an antibody drug candidate for the treatment of autoimmune
diseases.  The antibody has been developed by a team of researchers at the
Melbourne (Australia) Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
(LICR).

The initial clinical trials of this antibody will be in patients with
rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  One percent of the world's population suffers from
RA, an autoimmune disease that leads to painful inflammation and ultimately
destruction of bone joints. Disease-modifying-anti-arthritis drugs (DMARDS) are
the first line therapies for RA, but patients become unresponsive over time and
progress onto treatment with biological agents. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF
alpha) blockers Enbrel, Remicade and Humira are now established treatments for
patients failing DMARDS.  Up to 40% of patients fail to respond to these agents
or respond until neutralizing antibodies develop as a consequence of repeated
dosing. Therefore new treatments are needed.

Researchers at the LICR have identified a protein target that appears to play a
key role in establishing and managing the destructive disease processes.   In
animal studies, blocking the function of this protein with a neutralizing
antibody appears to prevent the induction of arthritis but more impressively,
treatment of ongoing disease with the antibody halts the disease's progression.
Gene "knock-out" mice are also resistant to the induction of several autoimmune
diseases.  Dr. Geoffrey Yarranton, CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, commented,
"Because the function of this protein is well conserved among mammals, we are
especially optimistic that the information and first generation antibody
developed by the LICR will lead to an effective drug in humans. The
in-licensing of another antibody with a strong preclinical data package is
further demonstration of the successful implementation of our in-licensing
strategy for building a robust therapeutic antibody pipeline."

"The KaloBios team's experience in the development of antibody-based drugs,
coupled with their novel engineering technology made them an excellent choice
for the placement of this drug candidate," said Dr. Eric Hoffman, Director of
LICR's Office of Clinical Trials Management.

KaloBios plans to enter the first generation antibody into human clinical
trials by the second half of 2005.

About KaloBios  

KaloBios uses its unique and proprietary technologies for the development of a
pipeline of in-licensed and novel antibody therapeutics. Such uses include de
novo discovery of high-affinity human antibodies, as well as humanization and
optimization of antibodies with respect to many pharmacologically important
properties.  To fully leverage the value of its technology platform, KaloBios
is becoming vertically integrated, with the capability to discover, engineer
and develop clinically relevant antibodies and protein therapeutics. For more
information, visit www.kalobios.com.

The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) is the largest international
academic institute dedicated to understanding and controlling cancer. With ten
Branches in seven countries, and numerous Affiliates and Clinical Trial Centers
in many others, the scientific network that is LICR quite literally covers the
globe. The uniqueness of LICR lies not only in its size and scale, but also in
its philosophy and ability to drive its results from the laboratory into the
clinic. LICR has developed an impressive portfolio of reagents, knowledge,
expertise, and intellectual property, and has also assembled the personnel,
facilities, and practices necessary to patent, clinically evaluate, license,
and thus translate, the most promising aspects of its own laboratory research
into cancer therapies.

SOURCE  KaloBios Pharmaceuticals  

CO:  KaloBios Pharmaceuticals; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; LICR

ST:  California, Australia

SU:  LIC

Web site:  http://www.kalobios.com

http://www.prnewswire.com

07/22/2004 07:00 EDT