UroGenesys Announces an Expanded Product Portfolio in Multiple Cancers and Plans for In-House Antibody Product Development Laguna Niguel, Calif., February 21, 2001 - UroGenesys, Inc. announced at the Roth Capital Partners investors conference that its portfolio of product candidates for cancer therapy has grown to include numerous antigens expressed in other major solid tumors, in addition to urological cancers. The Company also disclosed its plan to develop therapeutic antibodies in-house for selected targets from its growing portfolio. As it becomes a product development company in its own right, UroGenesys also intends to continue its strategy of partnering other discoveries for development of products in different therapeutic areas, such as small molecule drugs and vaccines, in addition to antibodies. The Company licensed one of its proprietary targets, an antigen called PSCA, to Genentech in a $33 million deal last July for development of antibody therapy in prostate and other cancers. This agreement illustrates the type of corporate partnerships the Company expects to develop with other companies for most of its product candidates, while carrying selected antibody products forward to the clinic itself. Illustrating another element of its product development strategy, UroGenesys announced that it will gain access to a medium scale GMP manufacturing facility later this year. This GMP facility will provide the Company capability to produce its future antibody products at a scale required to support clinical trials. At a time that many other companies are struggling with a shortage of manufacturing capacity, UroGenesys sees its future GMP facility as an important strategic asset. UroGenesys also reported that its strategy of building a strong intellectual property position in cancer, which emphasizes market protection on an antigen by antigen basis, showed significant progress. The Company has five issued patents, several others allowed, and over 130 pending. Each filing covers claims for composition of matter, methods of use, and utility in cancer diagnosis and treatment. The Company believes this approach is proving effective in satisfying the more stringent utility standards imposed by the US Patent and Trademark Office, and in ensuring that UroGenesys succeeds in acquiring patents that provide significant market protection for its products. UroGenesys, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic products for urological cancers, with an initial emphasis on prostate cancer. Its proprietary gene discovery and validation technologies enable the Company to accelerate the identification of clinically relevant targets, leading to a current portfolio of 40 proprietary targets in prostate and other cancers. UroGenesys seeks to partner its discoveries for development of antibody, small molecule, vaccine and protein therapeutics, and diagnostics. The Company's laboratories and offices are located in Santa Monica, California. For more information see www.urogenesys.com. Contacts Donald Rice President and CEO drice@urogenesys.com Aya Jakobovits, Ph.D. Vice President of Research; Chief Scientific Officer ajakobovits@urogenesys.com << Back to Press Releases