Cambridge, UK, 1 August 2005 – Phogen Ltd ("Phogen") and Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT) announce today that they have entered into an exclusive Technology Commercialisation Agreement for the commercialisation of Phogen’s VP22 technology.

Under the terms of the agreement, CRT has agreed to provide Phogen with its expertise to commercialise Phogen’s VP22 Intellectual Property by identifying potential commercial partners and negotiating commercial terms with those parties, including licence agreements and sponsored research collaborations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

VP22 is a versatile platform technology, having utility in its DNA form for enhancing DNA vaccines and gene therapies, while the protein form, denoted Vectosomes, offers multiple delivery applications, which have been demonstrated for candidate therapeutic nucleic-acid based drugs as well as therapeutic proteins.

Dr Peter O’Hare, Phogen’s Co-founder and Director of the Marie Curie Research Institute, commented: “CRT was instrumental in the establishment of Phogen and we are delighted to have signed this agreement with them. It is particularly gratifying that their expertise will be brought to bear in the commercialisation of our technology.”

Dr Keith Blundy, Chief Operating Officer of CRT, commented: “This agreement highlights CRT’s expertise and track record in technology commercialisation. We are very pleased to be working with Phogen, a joint venture established by Marie Curie Cancer Care, one of our academic partners.”

Notes to Editors

Phogen

Phogen is a joint venture between the Marie Curie Cancer Care (MCCC) charity, the UK’s most comprehensive cancer care organisation, and Xenova Group plc (Nasdaq: XNVA; LSE: XEN), a UK-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel drugs to treat cancer and addiction with a secondary focus in immunotherapy.

To date, Phogen has generated in vivo proof of principle data to support the commercial application of its technology in the field of DNA vaccination and other gene-based therapeutics. It has also developed a completely novel VP22-based platform (Vectosomes) for controlled delivery of oligonucleotides, peptides and proteins, and has entered into a number of corporate partnerships, which have provided Phogen with revenues in excess of $2m.

Cancer Research Technology Limited

Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT) is a specialist technology transfer company which aims to develop new discoveries in cancer research for the benefit of cancer patients. CRT is wholly owned by Cancer Research UK, the largest independent funder of cancer research in the world. CRT works closely with leading international cancer scientists and their institutes to protect intellectual property arising from their research and to establish links with commercial partners. CRT facilitates the discovery, development and marketing of new cancer therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics and enabling technologies. Further information about CRT can be found at www.cancertechnology.com.

VP22 technology

VP22 presents a unique proprietary platform technology. VP22 is the only molecule reported to have the combined properties of intracellular transport and import, and can transport peptide and protein cargoes up to 120Kd, as well as other potential therapeutics such as nucleic acids and small molecules. VP22 technology can be utilised in two different formats, either as VP22 gene fusions for enhanced effectiveness of gene-based therapeutics, or as VP22 protein (Vectosomes) for delivery of various entities including nucleic acids and peptides/proteins into cells. VP22 gene technology is compatible with all types of vectors, whether viral or non-viral.

With the aid of cross-linking methods there is also clear potential for delivery of multiple agents in a single Vectosome particle. The combination of efficiency, regulated release, ease of manufacturing, and versatility makes Vectosomes a highly attractive technology for the development of new protein and nucleic acid based therapeutic agents as well as a valuable tool for the cell-based assays used in functional genomics and target validation.

Thus VP22 technology can offer intracellular delivery solutions for a remarkably wide range of agents, promising both to enhance the effectiveness of existing biologics, and facilitate the development of new products. The key potential benefits of VP22 include enhancement of efficacy, enhancement of safety by improving therapeutic index, and a favourable impact on cost of goods and manufacturing scale.

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