Biotechnology Assets

As a result of the renewed strategy by the Board of EQX to move into the coal exploration and production business, EQX will now look towards divesting its two biotechnology assets (VacTX and ZingoTX) into a new vehicle which will maximise any potential returns for EQX shareholders. As part of this divestment EQX has signed an investment agreement with Australian venture capital company Starfish Ventures Pty Ltd (Starfish) whereby Starfish will invest in VacTX Pty Ltd.

The ImmuneTX Board will act in the best interests of the ImmuneTX Shareholders with respect to the negotiation and completion of any investment in, or divestment of, either or both of the Biotechnology Assets. However, ImmuneTX Shareholders should note that, pursuant to terms of the ImmuneTX Constitution, the ImmuneTX Board is not required to seek ImmuneTX Shareholder approval for the disposal of part or all of the Biotechnology Assets.

A summary of the Biotechnology Assets is contained below.

ZingoTX

ZingoTX Pty Ltd (ZingoTX) has been focusing primarily on the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of pain.  ZingoTX has pursued a novel class of compounds that can target both inflammatory and neuropathic pain.  These compounds, called Capsarols, are based on the key active sites of the gingerol and capsaicin molecules.

ZingoTX was formed in February 2003 as a joint venture between EQX, TP Health Ltd: an Australian company working to discover and develop phytotherapeutic agents (i.e. medicine from plants) with their main interest being natural products; and the University of Sydney: where the research into the gingerol compounds was conducted by Professor Basil Roufogalis at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

In June 2003, contracts relating to the exclusive worldwide licence to exploit the potential of this novel class of new chemical entities (NCE’s) discovered and patented by the University of Sydney was granted to ZingoTX. The granted patents and patent applications were assigned to ZingoTX and EQX set about attempting to further commercialise the intellectual property (ZingoTX IP).

The fundamental goal of ZingoTX has been to develop novel drug candidates with demonstrated activity at specific pain receptors or neuro transmitters for the treatment of chronic painful conditions, in particular neuropathic and inflammatory pain.  The underlying ZingoTX technology, the Capsarol compounds, target the peripheral mechanisms and ectopic firing of nociceptors and it is that IP that ImmuneTX is hoping to develop and commercially exploit.

VacTX

Formed in early 2004 as a joint venture between EQX and the Cooperative Research Centre for Vaccine Technology (CRC-VT), VacTX Pty Ltd (VacTX) sought to develop vaccines for the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases based on the novel lipopeptide technology developed by scientists at the CRC-VT.

• The lipopeptide vaccine technology incorporates a novel branched structure and comprises four key functional elements:
• Target epitope, a peptide that stimulates either a cytotoxic T lymphocyte or B cell (antibody) immune  response to the specific target (eg virus, bacteria, cytokine, hormone, etc);
• Promiscuous T helper cell epitopes, peptides that stimulate CD4 T cells of diverse histocompatibility types, boosting cytotoxic T lymphocytes or B cells to the target epitope;
• Lipid moiety such as Pam₂Cys (dipalmitoyl-S-glyceryl cysteine) which acts as an adjuvant to boost T and B cell immune responses by activating dendritic cells; and
• Amino acid linker such as lysine which links the T helper cell epitope, the target epitope and the Pam₂Cys lipid moiety to produce the branched structure.

The technology is protected by a family of patent applications claiming the structure and function of the T helper cell epitope and branched lipopeptide vaccines (VacTX IP).  The patent claiming the T helper cell epitope is granted in the United States, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  The two patent applications covering branched lipopeptides have proceeded to the national/regional phase of examination in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Brazil.

A range of prototype lipopeptide vaccines have been constructed and evaluated in mouse models of disease.  The prototype LHRH vaccine has also demonstrated safety and immunogenicity in a large, outbred animal species.

Studies of prototype vaccines indicate that the technology has potential application in the prevention and treatment of chronic infectious diseases and the treatment of cancer, allergy, inflammation and other diseases that may be modulated by the immune system, including the control of autoimmune diseases.  For example, lipopeptide vaccines could be targeted to diseases currently treated using monoclonal antibody therapies, a market that currently totals in excess of US$ 10 billion.

Again, it is the objective of ImmuneTX to develop the VacTX IP to commercialisation.