ProMetic and MacoPharma announce successful completion of P-Capt(R) prion reduction filter clinic...( - Irish and UK Blood services contin...)

- Irish and UK Blood services continue pre-adoption clinical evaluation of

filter - Recent case of vCJD now means that all the population is susceptible to

the disease - Increased concerns over "second wave" of vCJD in individuals with much

longer incubation times

- P-Capt(R) prion reduction filter still the only proven method of

protecting against potential transmission of the disease in blood - ProMetic and MacoPharma gearing up for implementation in watershed year

for the product

CAMBRIDGE, UK and LILLE, France, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - The successful completion of two human clinical studies performed on volunteers using the P-Capt(R) prion reduction filter for red cell concentrates has been announced by ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. ("ProMetic") and MacoPharma. The clinical studies evaluated the effect of the filter on units of red cell concentrate collected from human volunteers, to ensure that the use of the filter had no negative effect on the red blood cells themselves. Data demonstrated no negative impact.

"These studies represent the first use of the P-Capt(R) prion filter in humans and the results demonstrate that not only is the product effective in reducing the risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ("vCJD") by blood transfusion but also there is no impact of the treatment on the blood itself," stated Mr. Christophe Vinzia, MacoPharma's Director of Business Development. "This represents a major milestone and we anticipate the positive results will encourage early adoption of the product in the UK and Ireland".

This latest news comes after reports of a previously unseen 'vv' genotype individual contracting vCJD. "Reports of the vv genotype individual now mean that any individual is susceptible to contracting vCJD," commented Dr. Peter Edwardson, ProMetic's Vi
'/>"/>