CAT Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund Limited

RNS Number:2359K
Cambridge Antibody Tech Group PLC
19 September 2001


01/CAT/16

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

07.00 BST, 02.00 EST Wednesday 19 September 2001
For Further Information Contact:

Cambridge Antibody Technology               Square Mile BSMG Worldwide (Europe)

Tel: +44 (0) 1763 263 233                   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7601 1000

David Chiswell, CEO                         Kevin Smith

John Aston, Finance Director                Graham Herring

Rowena Gardner, Head of Corporate
Communications


                                            BMC Communications/The Trout Group
                                            (USA)

                                            Tel: 001 212 477 9007

                                            Brad Miles, ext 17 (media)

                                            Brandon Lewis, ext.15 (investors)



 CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES GRANT OF ANTIBODY EXPRESSION LIBRARY
                                PATENTS IN US

Melbourn, UK... Cambridge Antibody Technology (LSE: CAT; NASDAQ: CATG) today
announced the issue of four US patents covering antibody expression libraries
- the 'Huse/Lerner/Winter' patents. The patents are co-owned by the Medical
Research Council, The Scripps Research Institute and Stratagene. Following the
settlement of interference proceedings in June 1999, CAT is the sole exploiter
of the intellectual property rights arising under the patents, subject to
certain rights reserved by the co-owners and their pre-existing licensees.

The Huse/Lerner/Winter patents are entitled: "Method for Producing Polymers
Having a Preselected Activity" (US 6,291,158 and US 6,291,159) and "Method for
Tapping the Immunological Repertoire" (US 6,291,160 and US 6,291,161). The
patents are generally

directed to nucleic acid libraries for expression of functional immunoglobulin
variable domains (or portions thereof) and methods of making such libraries.

CAT also announced the filing of an infringement suit alleging that MorphoSys
AG and MorphoSys USA, Inc. infringe two of the Huse/Lerner/Winter patents (the
'158 and '161 patents). The suit was filed in the United States District Court
of Washington DC.





                                    -ENDS-



Notes to Editors:

Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT)

CAT is a UK biotechnology company using its proprietary technologies in human
monoclonal antibodies for drug discovery and drug development. Based in
Melbourn, 10 miles south of Cambridge, England, CAT currently employs around
230 people.

CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange, having raised #41m in its IPO in
March 1997. A further offering in March 2000 raised #93m. Also, CAT's ADRs are
listed on the US NASDAQ National Market.

CAT has an advanced platform technology for rapidly isolating human monoclonal
antibodies using phage display systems. CAT has an extensive phage antibody
library, currently incorporating around 100 billion distinct antibodies. This
library forms the basis for the company's strategy to develop a portfolio of
clinical development programmes and for discovering new drug leads using
functional genomics. Five human therapeutic antibodies developed by CAT are at
various stages of clinical trials.

CAT has a number of licence and collaborative agreements in place with
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including: Eli Lilly, Pfizer,
Genentech, ICOS, Genetics Institute, Wyeth-Ayerst, Human Genome Sciences,
Knoll Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Abbott Pharmaceuticals), AstraZeneca,
Pharmacia, Oxford GlycoSciences, Genzyme, Immunex, Zyomyx and Elan.

Medical Research Council (MRC)

The MRC is the Medical Research Council of Great Britain. The MRC owns some of
the patent rights within CAT's patent portfolio either wholly or jointly with
CAT, which they have licensed to CAT under an agreement dated 7 January 1997.

CAT's patent portfolio

CAT now controls US patents covering three key areas: antibody expression
libraries (Winter II and Huse/Lerner/Winter), phage display (McCafferty) and
the isolation of human antibodies to human proteins by phage display
(Griffiths).

The Winter II and Huse/Lerner/Winter patents

The granted patents are entitled to a term expiring on 18 September 2018.

In 1999 CAT, Scripps and Stratagene settled US interference proceedings
between patent applications in the Winter II and Huse/Lerner (Scripps/
Stratagene) patent families from which CAT gained worldwide commercial rights
to the Huse/Lerner patents. The US PTO Interference Board added Greg Winter as
an inventor on three of the four Huse/Lerner patents, so the issued patents
are therefore referred to here as the Huse/Lerner/Winter patents.

The patent that was granted in the US on 19 June 2001 (US 6,248,516) forms
part of the Winter II family of patents, being a divisional of the application
that entered interference proceedings.

In Europe CAT's Winter II patent was granted on 9 April 1994 and was upheld
after opposition with an amendment to one of the 32 claims. The opposition
division decision has been appealed by CAT and MorphoSys (the only opponent).
CAT has initiated infringement proceedings against MorphoSys in Germany which
have been suspended pending the outcome of this appeal and a possible appeal
on a decision by the Opposition Division to uphold the McCafferty patent.

In the US the Winter II infringement action will proceed against MorphoSys in
Washington, DC, where the other patent infringement lawsuits by CAT against
MorphoSys are currently pending.

Other patents from the Winter II family have already been granted in Europe,
Australia, Japan and South Korea.






    Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
    Act of 1995: This press release contains statements about Cambridge
    Antibody Technology Group plc ("CAT") that are forward looking statements.
    All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this
    press release may be forward looking statements within the meaning of
    Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward looking
    statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding CAT's present and
    future business strategies and the environment in which CAT will operate
    in the future. Certain factors that could cause CAT's actual results,
    performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward
    looking statements include: market conditions, CAT's ability to enter into
    and maintain collaborative arrangements, success of product candidates in
    clinical trials, regulatory developments and competition.

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