BioVex Limited has signed a worldwide patent licence agreement with the US Public Health Service. The agreement allows exclusive use of the key human melanoma antigens, MART-1 and gp100, in therapeutic cancer vaccines based on herpesvirus vectors. The melanoma antigens were characterized in the laboratory of Dr Steven A Rosenberg at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda and BioVex will utilize them in its novel therapeutic vaccine, ImmunoVEX tri-melan.

Melanoma has the fastest growing incidence of any human cancer in the Western world, growing at 6% per annum. There are around 42,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the US and 7,500 deaths from the disease. ImmunoVEX tri-melan is currently undergoing pre-clinical development. In addition to the MART 1 and gp100 antigens, the vaccine also contains the melanoma tyrosinase antigen. It is believed to be the only melanoma vaccine in development to contain all three antigens.

BioVex''s ImmunoVEX platform is a unique vaccine technology that is designed to prime the body''s immune system to fight cancer and chronic infectious disease. Other vaccines based on the platform will include products to treat cervical cancer and genital herpes infection.

Dr Gareth Beynon, Chief Executive Officer of BioVex said: "Our ImmunoVEX vaccines represent a significant breakthrough in the search for effective ways to prime the immune system and we are pleased to have secured an exclusive licence to these two important and clinically relevant melanoma antigens. ImmunoVEX tri-melan will be BioVex''s second product into the clinic, following the recent entry of OncoVEX GM-CSF into a Phase I study".