• 10/6/2005
  • Toronto, Ontario
  • press release
  • Newswire Canada (www.newswire.ca)

Viventia Biotech Inc. today announced that it has received clearance from Health Canada to initiate a Phase II study evaluating Proxinium(TM) for the treatment of patients with chemotherapy-refractory
recurrent head and neck cancer.

“This clearance will allow us to expand our proposed Phase II trial for Proxinium(TM) to include Canadian patients and reflects our strategy to ultimately develop Proxinium(TM) on a global basis,” said Dr. Nick Glover, Viventia’s President and CEO.

Viventia recently announced it had been cleared by the FDA to initiate a Phase II trial of Proxinium(TM) for chemotherapy-refractory recurrent head and neck cancer. The Company anticipates initiating the trial by the end of 2005.

Information for physicians and patients will be made available on the
Company’s website, www.viventia.com.

About Proxinium(TM)
Proxinium(TM) combines a powerful cytotoxic protein payload with the
highly precise tumour-targeting characteristics of a monoclonal antibody. A single molecule of the cytotoxic protein payload, Pseudomonas exotoxin, is capable of killing a cancer cell. The antibody fragment of Proxinium(TM) targets EpCAM — an antigen that is highly expressed on many epithelial cancers including head & neck cancer, ensuring that the payload is delivered directly to the tumour.

Proxinium(TM) has been designated an Orphan Drug for the treatment of
head and neck cancer in the U.S. and EU. Head and neck cancer is the 9th most common cancer in North America, with approximately 55,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the U.S. alone, leading to 14,000 deaths annually. Head and neck cancer recurs in 60 – 70% of patients.