Protein therapeutics company Biolex, Inc., announces the issuance of a patent that broadly claims methods for immunizing a human or non-human animal against an antigen by administering an antibody produced by transgenic plants.

“The growing need for economical methods of producing monoclonal
antibodies has led to the emergence of many alternative approaches for the expression of proteins,” says Jan Turek, President and CEO of Biolex.

This is the first patent ever awarded for the use of “plantibodies” (plant-made antibodies) to treat humans. Biolex now has exclusive rights to five U.S. patents in its Plantibodies portfolio, giving the company coverage for the production of antibodies in transgenic plants and their use to treat humans. Therapeutic antibodies form the fastest growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry, with 17 currently approved in the United States.

The market is expected to more than triple in value between 2002 and 2008 from $5.4 billion to $16.7 billion.

The patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, number 6,852,319, is entitled, “Method of Use of Transgenic Plant Expressed Antibodies.”

“Using our LEX System, we can efficiently produce large quantities of proteins in compliance with existing regulatory guidelines with much lower capital investment requirements than traditional approaches,” say Turek.

About Biolex:
Biolex, Inc. is a private, venture capital-backed
biopharmaceutical company. Biolex is developing recombinant human therapeutic proteins that, until now, have been impossible or very expensive to develop in existing expression systems. Biolex’ proprietary LEX System has demonstrated speed, regulatory and economic benefits with hard-to-make proteins and
monoclonal antibodies. Biolex has a pipeline of proprietary products in development and its lead candidate, BLX-883, is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Biolex also is partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies seeking the protein development and production benefits the LEX System offers. Biolex has entered into corporate partnerships with Centocor, Inc., Medarex, Inc., and other pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies. The Company’s headquarters, researchlaboratories and clinical manufacturing facilities are based in Pittsboro, NC.

Visit: www.biolex.com.