Asterion -Nature Publications


Biofusion PLC
03 September 2007


For immediate release                                           3 September 2007
                                                                            





                                 BIOFUSION PLC

                         ("Biofusion" or "the Company")


          ASTERION's Foundation Research Published in Nature Medicine


Biofusion plc (AIM: BFN), the university IP commercialisation company that turns
world class research into business, is today pleased to note that Asterion
Limited ("Asterion"), one of Biofusion's portfolio companies from the Sheffield
University partnership, has announced that its results have been published in
the peer-reviewed, medical journal Nature Medicine. Asterion focuses on
developing proteins for new therapies against a range of disorders. Biofusion
has a 38% equity stake in Asterion.


Asterion's announcement follows:


                                Asterion LIMITED

                         ("Asterion" or "the Company")


                Foundation Research Published in Nature Medicine


Asterion Ltd (Sheffield, UK) is pleased to announce today that results from its
internally-generated research have been published in the peer-reviewed, medical
journal Nature Medicine. Asterion is a privately held next-generation
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing proteins for new therapies
against a range of disorders. Asterion's research is published in Nature
Medicine: A ligand-receptor fusion of growth hormone forms a dimer and is a
potent long-acting agonist, Wilkinson et al., Published online: 26 August 2007;
| doi:10.1038/nm1610.

Asterion, a Biofusion portfolio company founded in 2001, is based on world class
research from the University of Sheffield. Asterion is developing novel proteins
with the potential to treat a range of cytokine disorders and is based upon
structural and cellular molecular biology. Asterion has developed its technology
base using growth hormone as a model system, but its approach is applicable to
many other cytokines. Its platform technology should enable it to produce
products that exhibit delayed clearance, have high affinity and have a reduced
likelihood of side effects and unwanted immune responses.

The results in the cited Nature Medicine journal demonstrate that the new
molecule developed by Asterion promotes growth after a single injection and that
growth continues over a minimum of ten days in-vivo compared to the current
standard of care where daily injections of growth hormone are required to
promote human growth. The Asterion technology has the added attraction of
simplicity for manufacture and applicability to other cytokine hormones.


Commenting on this announcement Asterion's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Raymond
Barlow, said:" The publication of our foundation research in this prestigious,
peer reviewed journal is a major validation of the scientific basis of
Asterion's ProFuse TM therapeutic platform technology. ProFuse TM can
potentially be applied to a huge number of cytokine families and targets to
generate novel, IP-protected, next-generation biopharmaceutical products (AFTTM
drugs). AFTTM drugs are long-acting biopharmaceutical products that can
administered less frequently than existing marketed drugs, and which have the
potential for an improved side effect profile. We look forward to sharing
further news on our development pipeline during the remainder of the year."


Asterion's Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Richard Ross, added: "We are very
excited by these results which demonstrate that making a fusion of growth
hormone to its receptor generates a potent hormone replacement with a very long
duration of action. We believe this technology will be a major advance in
recombinant protein therapeutics bringing significant benefits to patients.
Children and adults with growth hormone deficiency have to give themselves daily
injections whilst the new Asterion technology has the potential to reduce
injections frequency to once every two weeks or once a month. We believe that
the technology can be applied to a wide variety of recombinant proteins used to
treat inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, and metabolic
diseases. A major attraction of this new generation of cytokine hormone
therapeutics is the relative simplicity of manufacture and lack of requirement
for complex formulation."





For further information about Biofusion or Asterion please contact:

Biofusion                                                    +44 (0)114 275 5555                          
David Baynes, CEO

Asterion Ltd                                                 +44 (0)77 4009 3092                             
Raymond Barlow, CEO

Buchanan Communications                                      +44 (0)20 7466 5000                                  
Lisa Baderoon / Mary-Jane Johnson / Catherine Breen

Nomura Code                                                  +44 (0)20 7776 1200
                                                                            
Phil Walker / Clare Terlouw


About Biofusion


Biofusion was established in 2002 to commercialise university-generated IP.
Biofusion has signed long term agreements with two of the UK's top ten research
intensive universities (University of Sheffield and Cardiff University) giving a
combined R&D spend attributable to Biofusion of approximately #114 million a
year. The Company has a portfolio of 24 spin-out companies.


Biofusion's first agreement was a ten-year exclusive arrangement with the
University of Sheffield for the commercialisation of IP owned by the University
in the area of medical life sciences. Biofusion has shareholdings in a portfolio
of 17 Sheffield University spin-out companies including Asterion, Axordia,
Celltran, Lifestyle Choices, Diurnal and Phase Focus. The University of
Sheffield was ranked 5th in the UK for the quality of its life sciences research
and will be spending an estimated #0.5bn of research funding over the lifetime
over the life of the Sheffield Agreement.


In January 2007, Biofusion completed a long-term exclusive agreement with
Cardiff University, to commercialise 100% of all Cardiff University's
research-generated IP. Biofusion has shareholdings in a portfolio of seven
Cardiff University spin-out companies including Abcellute, Q-Chip and Cardiff
Protides. Cardiff University was ranked 7th in the UK in the most recent
research rankings and will be spending over #1.0bn of research funding over the
lifetime over the life of the Cardiff Agreement.



About Asterion


Asterion is developing next-generation therapeutic proteins with superior
pharmacological profiles that will improve the current treatment options for
patients with chronic diseases.


Asterion applies its core technologies to generate and develop long-acting
biopharmaceutical products that can administered less frequently than existing
marketed drugs, and which have the potential for an improved side effect
profile.


Asterion owns a novel, patented therapeutic platform technology ProFuse TM that
has tremendous utility and versatility. ProFuse TM can be applied to a huge
number of cytokine families and targets to generate novel, IP-protected,
next-generation biopharmaceutical products.


Asterion's is adopting a lower risk development strategy by applying its
technology to improve existing products in established markets. In particular,
Asterion is focusing on developing next-generation Asterion Fusion Technology
(AFTTM) therapeutic products that address unmet clinical and commercial needs in
large markets where the targets are validated, the clinical development path is
known and the commercial opportunity is clear.


Asterion's platform technologies and novel, differentiated, IP-protected
products should be of considerable interest to a variety of companies,
including: (1) companies looking to manage the life cycle of existing products,
(2) companies looking for ways to address the challenge of biosimilars, (3)
companies looking to gain entry into large, growing markets, and (4) companies
looking to create new biopharmaceutical products.


Asterion's proprietary, best-in-class, next-generation, therapeutic proteins are
being developed and commercialized through internal programmes and external
collaborations. Asterion's current products will be used to treat diseases such
as anaemia, neutropenia, multiple sclerosis, growth disorders and autoimmune
disorders.


The company's most advanced product is a long-acting Growth Hormone agonist
product for the treatment of growth disorders, which is being developed in a
strategic alliance with Ipsen. The company has internal programmes for other
cytokine targets which include erythropoietin (AFTTM-EPO), G-CSF (AFTTM -GCSF),
interferons (AFTTM -Inteferon Alpha AFTTM -Inteferon Beta) and leptin (
AFTTM -Leptin)


Asterion's ProFuseTM technology can be applied across many therapeutic protein
groups. In addition to its ongoing R&D programmes, Asterion seeks to enter into
commercial partnerships with pharma and biotech companies to leverage its
expertise and technology more broadly across a wider number of protein drug
candidates. The company has IP for a number of existing biopharmaceutical
targets, as well as for certain novel targets, and is exploring the possibility
of out-licensing certain of these assets.


Asterion Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is a Biofusion portfolio company based on
world class research from the University of Sheffield, originally developed with
early stage funding from White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund. Asterion
acknowledges the financial and technical support of Ipsen for elements of the
work contained in the publication.


For more information on Asterion, visit www.asterion.com



Biopharmaceutical Products


The total market for biopharmaceutical products is currently estimated to be
$64bn (www.lamerie.com). In 2006, the erythropoietin class accounted for $11.9Bn
in sales; the Inteferon Beta Class accounted for $4.4Bn in sales; the Human
Growth Hormone Class accounted for $2.3BN in sales; and the Inteferon alpha
class accounted for $2.26Bn in sales. Top biopharmaceutical products include
Aranesp (rEPO for Anemia, $4.12Bn sales in 06 for Amgen), Neulasta (PEG G-CSF
for neutropenia, $2.7Bn sales in 06 for Amgen), Avonex (Inteferon Beta 1a for
multiple sclerosis, $1.7Bn in sales for Biogen Idec). By 2010 the
biopharmaceutical market is expected to represent 17% of all prescriptions
written compared with 2004's 12%.







                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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