GenOdyssee Receives Notice of Allowance from U.S. Patent Office for Improved Interferon-Alpha Aimed at Hepatitis C

Paris (ots/PRNewswire) -

- GenOdyssee has Received Notice of Allowance of United States
Patent Application Covering it's Lead HCV Interferon-Alpha Product
GEA007.1, a Natural Protein With Improved Anti-HCV Genotype 1
Activity

GenOdyssee S.A., a biotechnology company dedicated to the
discovery and development of improved 'next generation' blockbuster
protein therapeutic products, announced today that it has received
notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) of its Patent Application No. 10/691,653 covering its
lead anti-HCV IFN-alpha product GEA007.1 for application in the
treatment of hepatitis C. GEA007.1 is a naturally occurring mutant of
human IFN alpha 17. In preclinical studies, GEA007.1 demonstrated
improved intrinsic anti-genotype 1 antiviral properties without
increased toxicity at therapeutic doses used in HCV treatments, as
compared to standard of care IFN-alpha 2 drugs.

"We are very happy with this notice of allowance, which
represents an important milestone for us. Combined with the granting
in the European Union in 2006 of our patent application covering
GEA007.1, this is a proof-of-concept of the global standard of
innovation set by our lead HCV program," said Jean-Louis Escary,
Ph.D., CEO of GenOdyssee. Similar to the European Patent Office
notice of allowance report on this product that was issued in 2006,
the current USPTO notice of allowance report did not reveal any prior
art references relevant to the invention constituted by GEA007.1.

A recent communication with the USPTO revealed that GenOdyssee's
patent application covering a second lead IFN-alpha drug candidate,
GEA009.2, to be used in cancer, is expected to be allowed in the
United States in the near future. "This confirms the uniqueness of
GenOdyssee's proprietary technology as well as our global leadership
position in the interferon arena," said Dr. Escary. "Our technology
has also proven to be uniquely applicable to other important classes
of protein therapeutic drugs such as erythropoietin."

Genotype 1 HCV has in recent years become the predominant HCV
genotype worldwide. It is estimated that approximately 100 million
people are infected with HCV genotype 1 worldwide and that this
genotype kills around 200,000 people annually from cirrhosis-related
hepatocarcinoma. Genotype 1 patients have not shown improved
responses to other IFN-alpha2 variants currently in clinical testing,
nor have these patients responded to higher doses of standard-of-care
long-lasting IFN-alpha2 drugs. Therefore, says Dr. Escary,
"GenOdyssee's improved interferon-alpha variant drug for HCV genotype
1, GEA007.1, which presents no increase in toxicity at therapeutic
doses used in HCV treatments, can constitute the next standard of
care. GenOdyssee is developing both standard and pegylated versions
of GEA007.1 and we believe this will provide a key element in meeting
the proven and growing demand for better hepatitis C therapies" added
Escary.

About GenOdyssee S.A.

GenOdyssee applies its proprietary population-genetics-based drug
discovery approach using a DNA databank representative of more than
90% of the different ethnicities that constitute the current human
population, which is screened for natural genetic variants of
therapeutic proteins with superior properties. The company pioneered
the vision that natural evolution has led to the generation in the
current population of unpredictable mutations that confer superior or
novel therapeutic status to known important human therapeutic
proteins.

GenOdyssee's technology is protected by the international patent
application PCT/EP03/13965 and is the sole property of the company.
An international examination report delivered by the European Patent
Office stated an absence of prior art to such technology in the
entire biopharmaceutical industry.

This technology has allowed GenOdyssee to identify a variety of
innovative variations on existing protein drugs including cytokines,
growth factors, coagulation factors, hormones and their receptors.

GenOdyssee's lead IFN alpha products are natural human proteins
variants generated by natural evolution. They are therefore already
proven to be functional and tolerated in man, echoing that of the
marketed interferon-alpha 2a and 2b drugs from Roche and
Schering-Plough that define the current standard of care.

GenOdyssee's IP portfolio is constituted of fifty-two patents and
patent applications that cover both its innovative technology and
therapeutic products, representing seven different patent families
among which twenty patents are already granted in numerous countries
worldwide including the EU and the US.

For more information about the company, please visit the
company's website at http://www.genodyssee.com

ots Originaltext: GenOdyssee SA
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

$story.getcontactHeadline()
Contact: Dr. Jean-Louis Escary, CEO, Tel: +33(0)616-416-857, Email:
escary@genodyssee.com