New Zealand Biotechnology Company Fact Sheet

Genesis has a broad genomics discovery platform that allows identification of novel biological signaling systems with strong commercial applications in the full range of life science industries. The company's discovery-based capability and extensive health and plant patent portfolio, in conjunction with an open approach to partnerships, allows Genesis to continue building a product pipeline that stretches across a number of industrial areas.

Business strategy:

• Partner with biopharmaceutical, agricultural, and forestry companies to develop and market end products from its gene discovery pipeline

Company highlights:

• Extensive microbe, plant, and mammalian expressed sequence tag (EST) databases, including world's largest EST database for commercial forestry species
  • ESTs provide a quick, inexpensive means of discovering new genes, getting data on gene expression and regulation, and constructing genome maps
• Wide-ranging patents, including 12 steps in production of lignin
  • Lignin is a component of plants important for support, water transport, and resistance to pathogens
• Corporate partnerships have provided 85 percent of the company's research and development expenditure to date
  • Currently has collaborations with Amgen Inc., Corixa Corp, SR Pharma, Evogenix, Wrightson Ltd, Landcare Research, HortResearch, ViaLactia, and ArborGen LLC
• Numerous technologies and databases available for licensing
• Revenues approaching $9 million USD in 2002
• Founded in 1994; 150 employees; headed by CEO Dr. J.D. Watson

Key research:

• Health sciences
  • Mycobacterial antigens: PVAC™-Phase IIb trials for treatment of psoriasis AVAC™-entering Phase II trials for treatment of atopic dermatitis (eczema)
  • Zyrogen and Epigen for cancer and immune-mediated diseases
  • Patented BioStore solutions for storage of tissues and living cells
• Plant sciences
  • Key signaling pathways that control wood growth, wood fiber quality, nutritional content of forage grasses, flowering control, and cold tolerance
• Novel plant hormones, receptors, and promoters

Recent advances/developments:

• Discovered a novel immune modulator that may regulate inflammatory conditions Recent advances/developments:
  • Collaborating with EvoGenix in research and development program to discover novel anti-inflammatory drugs

Proacta has a robust pipeline of therapeutic agents known as prodrugs, a new class of drug that can selectively kill cancer cells while limiting damage to normal tissue. Auckland Cancer Centre scientists Drs. Bill Denny and Bill Wilson, together with Professors Martin Brown and Amato Giaccia from Stanford, are renowned for their role in developing hypoxia-activated drugs that target oxygen-starved cells in tumors that cannot be killed by standard cancer therapies, leading to more malignant cancers. These therapies become toxic only within the target cell, thus limiting side effects. Proacta's team has brought 8 anticancer therapies into clinical trials, aimed at tapping into an annual market in anticancer therapies of $20 billion USD.

Business strategy:

• Develop products through Phase II clinical trials, then partner with a global pharmaceutical company to bring products to market
• Targeting cancer market of $20 billion USD, with 10 million new cancer diagnoses annually
  • 90% of cancers are solid tumors, with more than half having areas of significant hypoxia

Company highlights:

• Treatment of hypoxia in solid tumors is gaining momentum
• Nine potential anticancer compounds in development
• Holds 21 patent families in cancer research
• Proprietary technologies are based on intellectual property from the University of Auckland and Stanford University, both world leaders in hypoxia-related anticancer therapy
• Potential market for new cancer drugs could approach $8 billion USD annually
• Founded in 2001; headed by CEO Aki von Roy

Key research:

• Development of cytotoxic agents that do not have side effects associated with conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy

Recent advances/developments:

• Plans to begin Phase I clinical trials with three products in 2005

Virionyx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of therapeutics and vaccines against infectious diseases. The company has developed and is currently conducting clinical trials with a new passive immunotherapy for treating HIV. In March 2002, the company completed phase I clinical trial of PEHRG214 (HRG) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. Beginning November 2002, Virionyx commenced multi-dose Phase I/II clinical trial of this product at Harvard Medical School under an FDA-regulated IND in HIV-infected patients largely failing current therapies. Passive immunotherapy does not require the body to take an active role in fighting disease, and can be effective even when the immune system is weakened. The company's platform technology involves preparing antibodies for human use by using a disease-free herd of goats unique in New Zealand. The company believes this method may have the potential to treat other diseases not recognized by the human immune system. Virionyx designs its own research and clinical trial programs, as well as operates its own pilot processing plant for HRG.

Business strategy:

• Exploit New Zealand's relatively low cost infrastructure and unique animal byproduct export status for cost-effective development and commercialization of infectious disease treatments leveraging its Platform Technology

Company highlights:

• Experienced scientific team with international collaborators designs the company's own research and clinical trial programs for PEHRG214 (HRG)
• Phase I clinical trial of PEHRG214 findings published in Journal of Infectious Diseases, February 2003
• Holds three issued patents and one pending application in U.S., as well as other patents
• Approval of fast-track process could make HRG ready for marketing by mid-to-late 2006
• Research enhanced by New Zealand's unique population of disease-free goats
• Has raised $11 million USD to fund its operations
• Founded in 2000; 18 employees; headed by Chairman Peter Sullivan

Key research:

• Peptides that target viruses for which there are currently limited or no effective immune treatments or vaccines

Recent advances/developments:

• PEHRG214 has been demonstrated to kill the HIV virus directly and to neutralize HIV infectivity in the test tube
• Evaluating joint venture in China to develop new therapeutics based on its proprietary technology platform

IRL Biopharm is a rapidly growing biopharmaceutical firm with annual revenues exceeding $7 million USD. It serves multinational pharma and biotech companies, producing critical components for anticancer drug trials. IRL Biopharm conducts R&D and contract manufacturing in fermentation and separation technologies, and has a leadership position in the manufacture of anticancer "warheads"-toxic compounds produced by fermentation of soil microorganisms that are then chemically modified and linked to antibodies to treat specific cancers.

Business strategy:

• Build partnerships with companies seeking to use toxins for advanced anticancer therapeutics

Company highlights:

• Industrial Research Limited, IRL Biopharm's parent, has annual revenues of $35 million USD
  • IRL Biopharm was formed in 1999 in response to anticipated demand for anticancer conjugates
• IRL Biopharm manufactures toxic molecules for tumor-activated prodrugs (TAPs) produced by ImmunoGen
  • With prodrugs, the toxic agent is released only after the drug is bound to the cancer cell, not affecting healthy tissue and allowing administration of higher treatment doses
• Complies with current GMP practices in accordance with US FDA requirements
• Has one of the world's top scientific teams in carbohydrate chemistry
• IRL Biopharm CEO Denis Malone

Key research:

• Developing new toxins for innovative anticancer treatments
• Design and synthesis of immucillins for treatment of autoimmune conditions (eg, arthritis, organ rejection) (immucillins are potent enzyme inhibitors that selectively ameliorate T-cell proliferation in humans)
  • One immucillin currently in Phase I/II clinical trials for treatment of T-cell cancer

Recent advances/developments:

• IRL Biopharm won Trade New Zealand Exporter of the Year Award, June 2003
• Opened $4 million USD glycotherapeutics synthesis development and production facility, March 2003

Celentis commercializes key technology in medicine, agricultural biotechnology, biomonitoring, and biosecurity. An example of a recent innovation is Sniffertech, an odor-detection device with far-reaching implications. Sniffertech is able to detect a piece of wood the size of a matchbox capable of harboring insects and diseases within a sea container, which, if undetected, could threaten New Zealand's biosecurity.

Business strategy:

• Seeks partnerships with organizations to exploit the commercial potential of Celentis' intellectual property portfolio, and to invest in science outcomes

Company highlights:

• Celentis is the commercial arm of AgResearch, one of the world's leading life sciences research companies
• Celentis spun-off five new subsidiary companies in 2002, selling three
• Celentis currently has stakes in ten biotechnology companies, including AgVax, BioProducts, Sastek, ComOne, Covita, Clone International
• Recently, Celentis gained full ownership of TimeCapsule, a company with a well-established technology for protecting livestock against facial eczema
• Formed in 2000; headquartered in Auckland; headed by CEO Dr. Stewart Washer

Key research:

• BioPharming for manufacturing complex proteins in transgenic cow's milk
• Smart measurement systems for the food industry that help optimize food production, processing, and monitoring (e.g., easiTrace-a DNA trace back system; allows tracing meat back to processing plant and farm of origin)
• Drug delivery systems for animals that improve the safety and efficiency of systems, while lowering costs
• Novel ingredients for nutraceuticals and functional foods (e.g., hyperimmune milk, phytoestrogen-enriched plants)

Recent advances/developments:

• Demonstrated enhanced casein levels in transgenic cattle and produced cattle to express human myelin basic protein
  • Casein is a major milk protein; myelin basic protein is potential treatment for multiple sclerosis
• Development of commercial electronic nose technology for detecting snakes and spiders