Research Agreement with Amgen and University of Sheffield
London, UK, 4 April 2006 – Lombard Medical Technologies PLC is pleased to announce that its Polymer Coatings Division has begun a research programme to develop a new combination of drug and drug eluting polymer for the treatment of coronary stent restenosis.
The project is to combine a proprietary drug from Amgen with Lombard Medical’s novel PEP™ drug eluting polymer and determine the elution profile on a drug eluting stent in a 28-day model devised by the University of Sheffield. The University of Sheffield has demonstrated the potential effectiveness of the drug in the reduction of restenosis and earlier feasibility studies have shown the drug is bioactive when it is released from the PEP™ polymer.
Stents are small expandable metal tubes that are implanted in arteries to keep them open in patients whose vessels have become blocked due to coronary artery disease, the most common cause of death in the Western World. These stents sometimes become blocked again (restenosis), requiring a re-intervention procedure to re-open them.
Drug-eluting stents represent a major innovative leap forward in the treatment of coronary artery disease, in that the latest research findings indicate that drug eluting stents reduce the need for re-intervention after stent implantation to a greater extent than bare metal stents. Healthcare industry estimates have suggested that the drug eluting stent market has reached a value of around $6bn.
Alistair Taylor, Executive Chairman of LMT, commented:
“We are very excited with this research collaboration between ourselves, Amgen and the University of Sheffield. We believe there is a great opportunity to license a second generation drug/polymer combination that is both safe and effective to a coronary stent company.”
Enquiries:
Lombard Medical Technologies PLC Tel: 01235 750 800
Alistair Taylor, Executive Chairman
Brian Howlett, Chief Executive Officer
Financial Dynamics Tel: 020 7831 3113
David Yates / John Gilbert
Notes to editors
Lombard Medical Technologies is a medical devices company developing stent grafts and other medical products for use in the treatment of vascular disease. The Company’s lead product, Aorfix™, is a stent graft for the treatment of aortic aneurysms, a balloon-like enlargement of the aorta which, if untreated, may rupture and cause death. Abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms are the 13th largest cause of death in the US and the market is estimated to be worth approximately US$2 billion by 2010. Aorfix™ is currently being commercialised in the EU, with US clinical trials expected to commence during 2006. The Company has a strategic collaboration with one of the world’s leading medical devices companies, Boston Scientific.
Lombard Medical has recently successfully completed its initial public offering on AIM and was admitted to listing in December 2005, raising £23.9 million, net of expenses. The Company, based in Oxfordshire & Yorkshire, currently employs 58 people.
Further background on the Company can be found at www.lombardmedical.com.