( had no effect on afibroblast cell lin...)Data supporting three Antisoma programmes presented at AACR,Health

Separate experiments highlight the potential to combine AS1411 with other treatments. When AS1411 was used together with paclitaxel or cytarabine, synergistic killing was seen in a number of cancer cell lines.

New light is shed on the anti-cancer action of AS1411. The drug clearly induces apoptosis (programmed cell death). There are, however, differences from the killing pattern seen with many cytotoxic drugs, which generally achieve their maximum effect rapidly. By contrast, AS1411 acts more slowly, continuing to cause further cell death over a period of days.

AS1411 has completed phase I development, where it was shown to be very well-tolerated and produced two objective responses in late-stage renal cancer patients. Phase II trials in renal cancer and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) are now planned and the drug may ultimately have potential against a variety of solid and blood cancers.

Preclinical support for AS1409 trial plans Antisoma recently announced that its forthcoming phase I trial of AS1409, an antibody-cytokine fusion protein, would enrol patients with renal cancer and melanoma. An AACR poster presents the data which supported this choice, showing strong expression of the drug's target in both of these cancer types.

Glyn Edwards, Antisoma's CEO, said: "Our AACR presentations illustrate the strength and breadth of our pipeline and highlight a number of ways to further expand the commercial opportunities for our key products, AS1404 and AS1411."

Copies of all the Antisoma posters are available at www.antisoma.com

Enquiries: Glyn Edwards, CEO Daniel Elger, Director of Communications +44 (0)20 8799 8200 Antisoma plc

Mark Court/Lisa Baderoon/Rebecca Skye Dietrich +44 (0)20 7466 5000 Buchanan Communications

Brian Korb
'"/>