RNS Number:8402Q
Celsis International PLC
27 March 2008



                            CELSIS INTERNATIONAL PLC

                    ("Celsis", "the Company" or "the Group")

                    signs exclusive agreement with Apath LLC


27 March 2008: Celsis International plc, the life sciences products and
laboratory services company, today announces that its Celsis In Vitro
Technologies (Celsis IVT) division has signed an exclusive global market
development agreement with Apath LLC to assist customers in the evaluation of
drug candidates for their cytotoxicity and efficacy against the Hepatitis C
virus.



Celsis' IVT division, which provides in vitro liver cell products and
development services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to
reduce the time and cost of drug discovery and development, has signed an
agreement with Apath LLC which is based on its intellectual property portfolio
relating to the Hepatitis C virus (HCV).  Apath LLC is a US based drug discovery
company focused on human viral diseases, and its portfolio was developed by its
founder Charles M. Rice, Ph.D. and other pioneers in the field.



To date, research into potential therapeutics for HCV has been significantly
hindered, in part, by the absence of effective in vitro efficacy models in which
potential compounds can be evaluated.  This unmet need has contributed to the
lack of success in the development of treatments for a disease that affects an
estimated 200 million people worldwide, four times the prevalence of HIV, the
virus that causes AIDS.



There are over 100 pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies who have
active HCV programmes.  This agreement provides these companies with access to a
unique cell-based screening programme of their candidate compounds by leveraging
Celsis IVT's market presence and in vitro development capabilities with Apath's
proprietary technology platforms against the HCV life cycle.



Commercial launch of this programme is expected to take place in Q2 of this
calendar year with the potential for sizeable incremental revenues to Celsis IVT
over the next several years.  This agreement not only provides new growth
opportunities for Celsis but is consistent with Celsis' position in providing
leading technologies to our customers that provide critical information to
assist in the drug discovery and development process.



Paul D. Olivo, M.D., Ph.D., President and CSO of Apath LLC, commented:



"We are delighted to be working with Celsis and are confident that our expertise
in virology and molecular biology and Celsis' leadership and depth of
understanding in the drug discovery and development market place will be a
successful partnership.  We therefore look forward to entering into this
agreement where our technology and proprietary know-how will assist in
developing a new screening method for the Hepatitis C virus."



Jay LeCoque, Chief Executive Officer of Celsis, said:



"This market development agreement with Apath LLC is another significant step
for our Celsis IVT business and demonstrates the substantive progress that
Celsis is delivering to this field.  We are pleased to partner with Apath who
have assembled a leading intellectual property portfolio in supporting the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in their quest to find solutions to
treat or prevent Hepatitis C."




Enquiries:

Celsis International plc                                      Tel: 01223 598 428
Jay LeCoque, Chief Executive Officer
Christian Madrolle, Finance Director and Company Secretary

Financial Dynamics                                            Tel: 020 7831 3113
Ben Atwell
David Yates



Notes to editors

Celsis International plc

Celsis International plc is a world leading provider of innovative life science
products and laboratory services to the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and
consumer products industries through its three business areas; rapid detection,
analytical and drug development services and ADME-Tox in vitro technologies.
The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (CEL.L)



Each division of Celsis International plc has the capacity to deliver
substantial time and cost savings to its customers, in addition to ensuring
product quality and safety for consumers.  Celsis Rapid Detection division
utilises proprietary enzyme technology to develop and supply diagnostic testing
instruments and consumables for the rapid detection of microbial contamination
in pharmaceutical and consumer products.  These rapid testing systems provide
significant economic value by reducing the time it takes to test and release raw
materials, in process and finished goods to market.  Celsis Analytical Services
division provides cost effective outsourced laboratory testing services to
pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies.  Its comprehensive service
offerings include a full spectrum of laboratory services from drug development
and discovery to analytical chemistry and biological sciences to stability
storage and testing.  Celsis In Vitro Technologies (Celsis IVT) employs
proprietary expertise in hepatocyte (liver cell) technology to supply in vitro
testing products to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.  Celsis
IVT's consumable testing products screen drug compounds for liver toxicity early
in the drug discovery process, thereby reducing the time and cost of further
development or trial on those compounds which will not be properly metabolised
by the human liver.



Further information can be found on its website at www.celsis.com.



Apath LLC

Apath LLC is a privately held pharmaceutical discovery company, with a focus on
the application of state-of-the-art molecular virology and viral genetics in the
discovery and development of therapeutics for human viral diseases.  Apath was
founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1997 by Charles M. Rice, Ph.D.  Dr. Rice is
the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Professor of Molecular Virology, Viral
Pathogenesis, Vaccine Development and Director of the Laboratory of Virology and
Infectious Disease at The Rockefeller University as well as the Scientific and
Executive Director, Center for the Study of Hepatitis C, A Cooperative Endeavor
of The Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medical College and New York
Presbyterian Hospital.



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