Released on = October 12, 2006, 2:26 am

Press Release Author = MACOPHARMA

Industry = Pharmaceuticals

Press Release Summary = LILLE, FRANCE - October 12, 2006 --

MacoPharma SA ("MacoPharma"), announced at the BBTS (British Blood Transfusion
Society) meeting, Bournemouth, UK, 21-23rd September, 2006, that their prion capture
filter, P-Capt® has received European Regulatory Approval (CE mark). The CE mark
means that the prion filter meets European essential requirements for safety of
medical devices.

MacoPharma\'s Innovative Prion Capture Filter P-Capt® is the newest product in the
Safety of Blood Products range. The first product is targeted initially at reducing
the risk of transmission of vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) from transfused
red blood cell concentrates, the most widely prescribed blood component, by the
removal of prions. "Globally, over 45 million blood donations are collected annually
and MacoPharma is committed to providing solutions that safeguard this blood supply"
says André Pollet, COO of MacoPharma, "the CE marking of the P-Capt® filter will
allow MacoPharma to help to secure a safer blood supply regarding the transmission
of vCJD by transfusion".



Press Release Body = MACOPHARMA'S P-CAPT® PRION CAPTURE FILTER CE MARKED



LILLE, FRANCE - October 11, 2006 --

MacoPharma SA ("MacoPharma"), announced at the BBTS (British Blood Transfusion
Society) meeting, Bournemouth, UK, 21-23rd September, 2006, that their prion capture
filter, P-Capt® has received European Regulatory Approval (CE mark). The CE mark
means that the prion filter meets European essential requirements for safety of
medical devices.

MacoPharma\'s Innovative Prion Capture Filter P-Capt® is the newest product in the
Safety of Blood Products range. The first product is targeted initially at reducing
the risk of transmission of vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) from transfused
red blood cell concentrates, the most widely prescribed blood component, by the
removal of prions. "Globally, over 45 million blood donations are collected annually
and MacoPharma is committed to providing solutions that safeguard this blood supply"
says André Pollet, COO of MacoPharma, "the CE marking of the P-Capt® filter will
allow MacoPharma to help to secure a safer blood supply regarding the transmission
of vCJD by transfusion".

The P-Capt® filter incorporating PRDT's (Pathogen Reduction and Diagnostic
Technologies Inc.) proprietary prion-binding affinity resin has already demonstrated
excellent performance in binding abnormal prion protein (PrPres), including PrPres
from vCJD infected human brain.

Performance studies funded by MacoPharma and PRDT have demonstrated more than 99.9%
(>3 log10) reduction of infectivity in a red blood cell concentrate spiked with a
homogenate from a scrapie infected brain (Ref : Reduction of transmissible
spongiform encephalopathy infectivity from human red blood cells with prion protein
affinity ligands; Luisa Gregori et al. TRANSFUSION 2006;46:1152-1161). Additionally,
the removal of endogenous blood borne infectivity, a more representative test of
performance, was demonstrated to remove more than 93% (>1.2 log10) of infectivity
which is below the detection limit of the most sensitive bioassay available for
measurement of prion infectivity.

"The partnership between MacoPharma and PRDT is an important strategic alliance that
capitalizes on the technological strengths of each partner" said Christophe Vinzia,
Business Development Manager of MacoPharma. "The P-Capt® filter is the first product
to emerge from this collaboration with other product developments integrating PRDT
technology already in the pipeline."



The P-Capt® filter was officially launched at the BBTS meeting during a symposium
organized by MacoPharma and titled "P-Capt® Prion capture filter -Reducing the risk
of vCJD Transmission by transfusion."



The symposium featured Dr. Marc Turner, SNBTS Clinical Directorate, Edinburgh
(Scotland) who presented the implications and risks associated with vCJD in
Transfusion Medicine; Iwona Walicka, P-Capt® Project Manager MacoPharma, Tourcoing
(France) who outlined the key capabilities of the filter and the latest red cell
quality validation data; and Dr. Luisa Gregori, Veterans Affairs, Maryland Health
Care System and University of Maryland, Baltimore (USA) who detailed the validation
of the filter for the reduction of vCJD transmission through blood;



"The P-Capt® Prion Capture Filter has shown no effect on red cell quality and
stability and all results are within the routine specifications acceptable to the UK
blood services and the Council of Europe Guidelines" announced Iwona Walicka, "which
are essential requirements of the blood processing industry".

"The launch of the P-Capt® filter is consistent with MacoPharma\'s goal to
continually develop effective innovative products to improve transfusion safety"
states Dr Chryslain Sumian, R & D Project Leader, "it is the first in a line of
filters to reduce the transmission of blood-borne pathogens in blood".

The filter is currently undergoing evaluation trials by the National Blood Service
agencies of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"European regulatory approval and evaluation of the P-Capt® filter by the UK and
Irish Blood Services represent major milestones in the path to product acceptance."
commented François Bidet, Strategic Marketing Manager of MacoPharma.

vCJD and Blood Transfusion

vCJD is part of a family of neurodegenerative diseases called Transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) that are believed to be infectious by blood
transfusion for years before symptoms arise. vCJD was initially transmitted to
humans by the consumption of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephelopathy) contaminated
meat. The first human case of vCJD was identified in the UK in 1994. There have been
cases in France (20), Ireland (4), USA (2), Netherlands (2) and one each in Canada,
Italy, Japan, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Spain with the majority of cases in the UK
(162). This represents a total of 196 cases worldwide.



The potential of secondary route of transmission of vCJD by the transfusion of blood
units from asymptomatic vCJD individuals threatens to increase the epidemic. To
date, there have been three probable cases of human-to-human vCJD transmission via
blood transfusion in the UK. Since there are no clinical signs or symptoms of the
disease for many years, and no validated diagnostic test, blood donors could be
incubating vCJD.



The UK and Ireland have already taken many measures in order to reduce the risk of
vCJD transmission by the blood supply. One of the first steps was the introduction
of leucodepletion which removes the white cells from blood components thus removing
the infectivity that is cell associated. However, leucodepletion has been shown to
remove only 42% of the total infectivity (Effectiveness of leucoreduction for
removal of infectivity of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies from blood;
Luisa Gregori et al. Lancet 2004; 264:529-31). Thus, while leucodepletion is
necessary to remove the infectivity associated with WBCs (cell associated) there is
a necessity to remove the remaining non-cell associated infectivity. The UK also
defers donors who have previously received a blood transfusion.



Deferral of transfused donors and leucodepletion have also been introduced by many
countries, in addition to a ban on blood donations from individuals who lived or
visited countries during the BSE epidemic. This has resulted in a reduction in the
numbers of potential donors and could result in a reduced availability of blood.

About MacoPharma

MacoPharma is an innovator in global healthcare with expertise in the fields of
transfusion and infusion. The Company has become the largest supplier of in-line
leucodepletion filtration sets in Europe and is expanding its efforts into the
biotherapy field by developing products for cell expansion, in addition to
cell/organ processing and freezing. Headquartered in the Lille metropolitan area
(France), MacoPharma has three manufacturing facilities in Europe and its products
are now sold in more than 55 countries worldwide. One of MacoPharma\'s aims is to
provide a comprehensive range for the reduction of infectious agents in plasma,
platelets and red cells. This is consistent with the MacoPharma product development
strategy of the continuous quest, through partnerships, for improved safety,
efficacy, and quality of transfusion, infusion and biotherapy. www.macopharma.com

P-Capt® is a registered trade mark of MacoPharma in Europe.

P-CaptT is a worldwide brand name of MacoPharma.

About PRDT

PRDT is a joint-venture company set up in April 2002 by The American Red Cross and
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. PRDT allows for a reciprocal exchange of technology and
a knowledge base developed between the American Red Cross and ProMetic. PRDT\'s main
goal is to develop products and devices to remove and detect different pathogens
from biological sources. This research augments work that ProMetic, the American Red
Cross, and PRDT\'s scientific founders have been conducting independently for many
years.

About ProMetic Life Sciences

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the
research, development, manufacture and marketing of a variety of commercial
applications derived from its proprietary Mimetic LigandTM enabling technology. This
technology is used in large-scale purification of biologics and the elimination of
pathogens. ProMetic is also active in therapeutic drug development with the mission
to bring to market effective, innovative, lower cost, less toxic products for the
treatment of inflammation and cancer. Its drug discovery platform is focused on
replacing complex, expensive proteins with synthetic "drug-like" protein mimetics.
Headquartered in Montréal (Canada), ProMetic has R&D and manufacturing facilities in
the UK and business development activities in the US, Europe, Asia and MENA
countries (Middle East and North Africa). For more information please visit
www.prometic.com

Contact details :

Iwona Walicka : P-Capt Projet Manager

iwona.walicka@macopharma.com

Virginie Gourvez : Communication Manager

virginie.gourvez@macopharma.com

Tel. : +33 (0)320 11 84 30




Web Site = http://

Contact Details = Contact details :

Iwona Walicka : P-Capt Projet Manager

iwona.walicka@macopharma.com

Virginie Gourvez : Communication Manager

virginie.gourvez@macopharma.com

Rue Lorthiois
F-59420 MOUVAUX
Tel. : +33 (0)320 11 84 30