PRINCETON, New Jersey, October 21 /PRNewswire/ --

-Laureate to Manufacture Tolerx's TRX518 Antibody

Laureate Pharma, Inc., a full-service biopharmaceutical development and protein production company, today announced that it has entered into a cGMP contract manufacturing agreement with Tolerx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel therapies for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases. Under the agreement, Laureate will produce Tolerx's humanized anti-GITR antibody known as TRX518, which is currently in development for cancer and chronic viral indications. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080131/NETH020LOGO)

The partnership with Tolerx validates the progress we have made in biomanufacturing and our commitment in helping our clients bring novel therapies to the market, said Robert J. Broeze, Ph.D., President Chief Executive Officer of Laureate. With our well established monoclonal antibody experience, we will partner closely with the Tolerx team to help them achieve their manufacturing objectives.

Laureate Pharma has a proven track record in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, including capabilities in both clinical and commercial-grade materials, said Dr. Douglas J. Ringler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tolerx. This agreement enables us to operationally leverage Laureate's expertise and infrastructure while we seek to establish new treatment paradigms in the immunology space.

About Laureate Pharma, Inc.

Laureate Pharma is a full-service biopharmaceutical development and protein production company located in Princeton, New Jersey. Laureate Pharma offers superior bioprocessing services that accelerate new products from development through production. Laureate provides a wide range of specialized services from process design and development to full-scale cGMP production, purification, aseptic filling, testing, validation, analytical services, and regulatory support. Laureate is focused on two active segments of the biopharmaceutical industry: monoclonal antibodies and recombinant protein products. For more information, contact Michael Cavanaugh, Vice President Sales, Marketing, and Business Development at +1-609-919-3400, or info@laureatepharma.com or visit www.laureatepharma.com.

About Tolerx

Tolerx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel therapies for immune-mediated diseases. TRX518 is directed to GITR and is in preclinical development for the treatment of cancer and chronic viral diseases. TRX518 is thought to circumvent immune system tolerance by inhibiting the suppressive activity of T regulatory cells and extending the survival of T effector cells, thereby enhancing responses to tumor and viral antigens. Tolerx also has two antibodies in clinical development for the treatment of various autoimmune indications, these are: otelixizumab, an anti-CD3 MAb that is being developed in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline and MTRX1011A a modified form of TRX1, an anti-CD4 MAb that is being developed in collaboration with Genentech, Inc. In addition to TRX518, Tolerx is also engaged in the preclinical development of other antibodies that may shift or modulate the immune system. For more information, please visit www.tolerx.com.

Web site: http://www.laureatepharma.com http://www.tolerx.com

Michael Cavanaugh, Vice President Sales, Marketing, and Business Development, +1-609-919-3400, info@laureatepharma.com; Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080131/NETH020LOGO, AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org, PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com