AUSTRIAN VACCINATION FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AWARDED ASIAN INDUSTRY PRIZE

The Vienna-based company Affiris GmbH has been presented with the Lee Sun Kyu Pharmaceutical Award for its work on developing an innovative vaccine designed to combat Alzheimer‚s disease. The prize, which is awarded each year by Dongsung Pharmaceuticals based in South Korea,recognizes developments that have made a significant contribution to the global advancement of the biopharmaceuticals industry. The award ceremony in South Korea was attended by visitors from around the world and included inquiries regarding first licensing agreements for marketing the vaccine developed by Affiris in

Asia.


The Viennese company Affiris GmbH is currently developing an Alzheimer‚s vaccine that overcomes the problem of an autoimmune reaction. The CEO of Affiris, Dr. Walter Schmidt, was recently awarded the prestigious Lee Sun Kyu Pharmaceutical Award in recognition of the fact that this innovative approach does not induce such a reaction. Each year, the prize - now in its ninth year - is awarded for outstanding achievements in the biopharmaceutical industry. The winner is selected by an independent committee of specialists from the Korean company Dongsung.

In his speech at the award ceremony, Dongsung‚s president, Yang-Gu Lee emphasized the importance of innovative solutions for the treatment of Alzheimer‚s disease. By skilfully selecting the peptides that are responsible for the vaccine protection, Affiris has solved two problems that other companies working on an Alzheimer's vaccine have previously been unable to surmount. Firstly, Affiris' approach does not induce the autoimmune reaction that is such a characteristic risk of Alzheimer‚s vaccines due to the fact that the disease is caused by the body‚s own proteins. Secondly, the vaccine tested by Affiris can be produced from low-cost starting materials, thus cutting production costs.

As well as attending the award ceremony in Seoul, Dr. Schmidt was also invited to join talks with senior representatives from Dongsung. Dr. Schmidt comments ˆ „I am particularly pleased for our investors, MIG-Fonds in Munich. This prestigious award confirms that Affiris adopted the right concept for combating Alzheimer's, a concept which our investors supported from a very early stage. I am also pleased that this visit has led to very constructive talks about possible licensing agreements with Asian companies."

About Affiris GmbH (as at September 2006):
Affiris GmbH develops peptide-based vaccines for the treatment of Alzheimer‚s disease and atherosclerosis. The company has established platform technologies and registered seven patents. The company employs 12 people on 600 sqm of rented laboratory facilities at the Campus Vienna Biocenter (www.affiris.com).


Contact for Affiris GmbH:
Dr. Walter Schmidt
Campus Vienna Biocenter 2
1030 Vienna, Austria
T +43 / 676 / 52 99 731
E walter.schmidt@affiris.com


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