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NEWS 2005

[10/27/2005]

Biolex Therapeutics And Kringle Pharma Announce Collaboration For Production Of A Novel Protein Targeting Cancer

PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA/OSAKA, JAPAN, October 27, 2005 - Biolex Therapeutics, a protein therapeutics company, and Kringle Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing cancer therapeutics, have formed a collaboration under which Biolex will use its LEX System? for protein expression to create a commercial line for Kringle's NK4 protein. NK4 is currently in preclinical development for the treatment of multiple cancers, and the creation of a commercial line will facilitate scaled-up production of the protein for clinical development and commercialization. Biolex has now formed Commercial Line Creation collaborations with six pharmaceutical and biotech companies encompassing a total of 16 proteins targeting multiple indications. This agreement with Kringle represents Biolex' first collaboration with a Japanese company.

NK4 is an elastase-generated fragment of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) containing four kringle domains, initially discovered as a competitive antagonist of HGF. Research suggests that it also possesses the anti-angiogenic property relevant to cancer and neovascularization disorders. Preclinical testing of NK4 has shown inhibition of both metastasis and angiogenesis in multiple animal tumor models. Efficient production of NK4 using the LEX System will accelerate the rapid clinical development and commercialization of NK4.

"NK4 is a prime candidate for development with the LEX System as the protein has shown great promise in animal models for several different cancers, but production of the protein has been thought to be fairly inefficient with traditional expression systems," said Jan Turek, Chief Executive Officer of Biolex. "This collaboration will provide us the opportunity to work with Kringle Pharma on an important new potential cancer therapeutic agent."

"The Biolex team has successfully produced a wide range of human proteins and monoclonal antibodies including Plasminogen, a protein that contains multiple kringle domains similar to those in NK4," said Mr. Kunio Iwatani, Chief Executive Officer of Kringle Pharma. "We believe that the LEX System could be an ideal production system for NK4."

About Kringle Pharma, Inc.

Kringle Pharma was established in December 2001 for the purpose of eradicating cancer by developing new candidate medicines originated from Osaka University. The company is focusing on commercializing new biological drugs based on HGF and NK4 discovered by Prof. Nakamura and Associate Prof. Matsumoto at Osaka University. HGF plays key roles in many organs as an intrinsic repair factor, providing a significant therapeutic potential to be a regenerative medicine. NK4 directly inhibits tumor invasion and metastasis as well as tumor growth, and has demonstrated equal activity in a wide range of different cancer types and stages.

http://www.kringle-pharma.com/

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/

For further information please contact:

Biolex Therapeutics:
Michelle Linn, Linnden Communications, 508-419-1555, linnich@comcast.net
Kringle Pharma:
Kiichi Adachi, Ph.D., Director, R&D, Kringle Pharma, Inc., +81-6-6831-3330, info@kringle-pharma.com.