Sangamo BioSciences Announces Presentation of Data on ZFP Therapeutic for Glioblastoma at American Association for Cancer Research (AAC...( ZFN Modified Cells Show Gliobla...),Health

ZFN Modified Cells Show Glioblastoma Killing in the Presence of

Dexamethasone in Mouse Tumor Model

SAN DIEGO, April 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) today announced the presentation of positive data in a mouse tumor model from its ZFP Therapeutic(TM) program for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a progressive and usually fatal brain cancer. The data were presented in the New Approaches to Biological Therapy Session at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) by Sangamo's collaborator Michael C.V. Jensen, M.D., Associate Chair, Division of Cancer Immunotherapeutics & Tumor Immunology, City of Hope.

"In collaboration with Sangamo, we have successfully generated engineered T-cells that can destroy glioblastoma tumor cells in animals in the presence of glucocorticoids," said Dr. Jensen. "Treatment of recurrent GBM with modified T-cells, an otherwise promising approach for this cancer, is rendered ineffective by the use of glucocorticoids to control inflammation of the brain due to the tumor and surgery. These data show that we have solved that problem and are making significant progress in our efforts to create an 'off-the-shelf' cell-based product for the treatment of GBM. The ZFN(TM)-modification of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in our engineered T-cells protects the cells from the effects of glucocorticoids which would normally inhibit T-cell function, and in addition, does not alter their cytolytic or tumor-killing properties."

Dr. Jensen has developed novel chimeric immunoreceptors called "zetakines" that can be engineered into human immune cells to generate a population of cells that can specifically
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