Dr. Mich Hein Discusses Plant-Based Manufacturing of Monoclonal Antibodies at D.C. conference cosponsored by FDA, USDA, Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology

Epicyte Pharmaceutical, Inc., a San Diego biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies, announced today that its founder and president, Dr. Mich Hein, will help shape the national debate on plant-based pharmaceutical manufacturing at a Washington, D.C., conference on July 17, 2002.

"Pharming the Field: A Look at the Benefits and Risks of Bioengineering Plants to Produce Pharmaceuticals," has drawn national attention, and registration is at capacity. Due to demand, conference organizers – the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, the FDA and the USDA – have added a live audio Webcast to accommodate registrants who have been turned away due to space restrictions in the room. Media and other interested participants can access the Webcast at http://www.connectlive.com/events/pewagbiotech.

"Biopharming technology could lead to effective, affordable therapeutics to treat the millions of people worldwide who suffer from infectious and inflammatory diseases that can’t be adequately addressed by current therapies," Hein said. "Epicyte and the entire biopharmaceutical industry should welcome the opportunity to help forge crop stewardship and safety protocols that can set global standards for the world."

Epicyte’s crop stewardship protocols are among the most rigorous in the industry, and company executives have begun working with regulatory and legislative agencies to examine comprehensive approaches to ensure safety, enhance manufacturing efficiency and provide broader access to therapeutics for treating many infectious and inflammatory diseases not currently addressed by standard therapies.

Epicyte was named one of 50 private companies "most likely to change the world" by the editors of Red Herring, in the publication’s June 2002 annual Red Herring 100 issue. In a partnership with Dow, Epicyte has begun production for clinical trials of HX8, an expected treatment for the prevention of herpes simplex virus, an illness that affects 50 million people in the U.S. and R-19, a treatment for respiratory syncytial virus which hospitalizes 90,000 infants annually. Epicyte’s discovery and development efforts also focus on building a pipeline of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of patients with other major healthcare problems, including Clostridium difficile, Alzheimer’s disease and HIV.

"Pharming the Field: A Look at the Benefits and Risks of Bioengineering Plants to Produce Pharmaceuticals" is a conference designed to explore the issues surrounding plant-derived pharmaceuticals and expand public debate on the topic. Held July 17 – 18 at the Ronald Reagan Building/International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., the conference features a distinguished group of experts from the biopharmaceutical industry, public interest groups, academia and the government to discuss the risks, opportunities and challenges of this technology. The conference is co-sponsored by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, the USDA and the FDA. Additional information on the conference and speakers may be found at http://pewagbiotech.org/events/0717.

The mission of the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology is to provide unbiased, reliable information for policymakers and other stakeholders to promote open dialogue and informed decision-making. Through a variety of activities, the Initiative is providing a neutral forum for interested parties to come together to explore issues and work towards balanced, reasoned solutions.

Epicyte Pharmaceutical, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutics to treat inflammatory and infectious diseases. The company’s proprietary technology for producing antibodies in plants allows Epicyte to address an unmet need – making antibody treatments for common infectious diseases in large enough quantities for widespread use. High production costs associated with traditional methods for producing antibodies have limited their use as a disease treatment. Epicyte’s technology for growing antibodies in plants is scalable and cost effective.