( FREISING-WEIHENSTEPHAN Germany March...)Pieris Demonstrates Potent Anti-Tumor Activity of a VEGF-Specific,Anticalin in Preclinical Studies,Health

FREISING-WEIHENSTEPHAN, Germany, March 29, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- Pieris AG, a bio-pharmaceutical company developing therapeutic products comprising of Anticalins(R), a novel proprietary class of human binding proteins, announced today it has demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity of PRS-050. The positive results with PRS-050, a VEGF-specific Anticalin(R) with extended serum half life, were achieved in a tumor xenograft model, thereby supporting the development of a superior biotherapeutic for a range of cancer indications.

PRS-050 targets VEGF, a key positive regulator of angiogenesis important in several diseases including cancer and neovascular eye disorders. PRS-050 exhibits a favorable binding and functional in vitro activity profile in direct comparison to all currently approved VEGF antagonists. Strong reduction of VEGF-induced enhanced vascular permeability after systemic administration of PRS-050 was also demonstrated in a second preclinical model. In both in vivo models PRS-050 was at least as efficacious as Avastin(R) (bevacizumab; Genentech / Roche). The data will be presented at CHI's forthcoming Protein Engineering Summit in Boston, USA.

"This example highlights perfectly how Pieris is able to adapt pharmacokinetic properties of Anticalins(R) depending on the intended therapeutic use. It took less than three months after identification of an optimized Anticalin(R) to validate the approach in vivo," comments Dr Andreas Hohlbaum, Director of Science and Preclinical Development of Pieris.

"We have unequivocally demonstrated the drug development potential of Anticalins(R) using well-accepted disease relevant preclinical models," says Evert Kuppers, Chief Executive Officer of Pieris. "With our PRS-050 we have now established a solid fundament for developing the next generation of anti-angiogenesis inhibitors with a favorable product profile."

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