Midland, MI
September 17, 2003

Studies will compare plant-based and mammalian cell production

The Dow Chemical Company and Sunol Molecular Corp. have signed a collaborative research agreement to produce a therapeutic protein in transgenic plants and compare its properties with those of the same antibody produced in mammalian cell culture. The companies announced the agreement today.

Under the agreement, Dow will express in plants an anti-tissue factor antibody developed by Sunol for treatment of multiple types of cancer. The objective of the collaborative research agreement is to compare and contrast the efficacy of the Sunol antibody as produced through plant technology and mammalian cell technology. The research will specifically look at glycosylation, in vivo testing, and effector function. Knowledge gained from the work is expected to demonstrate the utility of plant production for injectable biopharmaceuticals. The agreement includes an option for Dow and Dow AgroSciences to evaluate the antibody as a cancer treatment for companion animals. No financial details are being released.

"Dow Plant Biopharmaceuticals is pleased to be working with a biotechnology company of the scientific caliber of Sunol Molecular Corp.," said Carolyn Fritz, Global Business Director for Dow Industrial Biotechnology. "We believe Sunol’s antibody is an excellent candidate to demonstrate the efficacy of plant-produced antibodies."

Large-scale production economies
"We see potential value in plant-based techniques to provide good large-scale production economies, particularly useful for antibodies requiring large dosing and multiple indications," said Dr. Hing Wong, Sunol’s CEO. "Determining bioequivalence through in vivo comparison will be necessary to validate this emerging technology. We are excited about combining expertise and proprietary technologies from Sunol in tissue factor antagonists and from Dow in transgenic plant production to accomplish this important step."

Sunol’s anti-tissue factor antibody
Over 90% of cancers express tissue factor, which facilitates tumor growth and tumor metastasis. This makes cancer an attractive target for anti-tissue factor antibodies. Sunol’s anti-tissue factor antibody inhibits activities attributed to tissue factor and also provides a cytolytic effect to help destroy the target cancer cells. "Results from pre-clinical studies using human cancer cells introduced into mouse models are very encouraging," said Dr. Wong.

Sunol Molecular Corp. began operations in 1996 and is a privately held company engaged in the discovery and development of novel human therapeutics. Sunol currently has antibodies in clinical trials for treating cardiovascular disease and infectious diseases, and is preparing to enter clinical trials with antibodies for cancer and inflammatory disorders. The company is located in Miramar, FL. For more information, please visit www.sunolmolecular.com.

Dow Plant Biopharmaceuticals offers single-source development and manufacturing for production of complex therapeutic proteins using plant-based technology. Dow has a pipeline of client biopharmaceutical products in various stages of production, using plant transgenic technology in an effort to overcome capacity limitations with lower capital and operating costs, a faster route to production, and simpler downstream processing. In November 2002, Dow and Plant Research International B.V. of Wageningen, The Netherlands, announced an agreement to speed development of therapeutic proteins with mammalian-like glycan structures in transgenic plants, and thereby expand the utility of plant-based production for pharmaceutical proteins.

Dow is a leading science and technology company that provides innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $28 billion, Dow serves customers in more than 170 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of Sustainable Development, Dow and its approximately 50,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities.