Mitsui Ventures 三井ベンチャーズ(MVC、MCVP) ベンチャーキャピタル ベンチャー 三井物産 起業

NEWS 2005

[09/13/2005]

Biolex Therapeutics Doubles Manufacturing Capacity, Realizing Singnificant Economic And Time Efficienceis

PITTSBORO, NC, September 13, 2005 - Biolex Therapeutics, a venture backed, clinical stage protein therapeutics company, today announced that it doubled manufacturing capacity at its Pittsboro, NC facility. With the expansion, the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-certified preclinical and clinical production space exceeds 13,000 square feet. In anticipation of this expansion, Biolex has increased its workforce by 100 percent over the past nine months and currently has 90 employees based in North Carolina.

"With this new capacity Biolex has significantly increased its manufacturing capability, providing us the resources to support our partners and our product pipeline with development and scale-up of product for clinical trials," said Jan Turek, Chief Executive Officer of Biolex. "In anticipation of our next stage of growth, we are also seeking up to 50,000 square feet of new space to accommodate additional GMP production of clinical and commercial-stage therapeutics," he added.

"During this buildout we benefited from substantial economic and time efficiencies that the LEX System? offers. This expansion is a testament to the dramatic difference in construction time, capital and operating costs required to produce therapeutic proteins with the LEX System compared to traditional mammalian cell systems," said Mr. Turek.

Biolex will use the additional capacity to develop and manufacture therapeutic proteins for partners Centocor, Medarex and others using the LEX System, a proprietary protein expression system that relies on the aquatic plant Lemna for production. The expansion will also benefit Locteron?, the company's novel, controlled-release formulation of recombinant human alfa interferon, which is expected to enter Phase 1 clinical trials later this year. In 2006, Biolex plans to enter Phase 1 trials with its BLX-155, a novel, direct acting fibrinolytic agent.

About Biolex Therapeutics

Biolex Therapeutics is developing and commercializing therapeutic proteins based on the LEX SystemSM, its patented expression system that enables the production of hard-to-make proteins and the optimization of monoclonal antibodies.

The Company is developing a proprietary pipeline of products that rely upon known mechanisms of action to provide a reduced risk profile while targeting large, proven pharmaceutical markets. Biolex's lead clinical candidate, Locteron? is being developed as a best-in-class controlled-release interferon alfa for the treatment of hepatitis C.

The Company's second product candidate, BLX-155, is a direct-acting thrombolytic, designed to break up clots in certain diseases such as acute peripheral arterial disease, deep vein thrombosis and catheter occlusion. In addition, the unique capabilities of the LEX System have led to collaborations with Centocor, Medarex and other leading pharmaceutical/biotech companies.

Biolex is a venture capital-backed company located in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, United States. For additional information, please visit Biolex's web site at http://www.biolex.com

http://www.biolex.com/

Contact:

Michelle Linn, Linnden Communications, 508-419-1555, linnmich@comcast.net.