June 1, 2003

Altor Bioscience announced it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to support development of its single-chain T-cell receptor (scTCR) technology for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. The grant was awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and provides approximately $100,000 to the company over a twelve-month period. As part of its anti-viral therapeutic program, Altor has generated a number of human scTCR fusion proteins highly reactive to CVM target antigens. The SBIR grant will fund a portion of the costs of preclinical studies to characterize these fusion proteins. This represents the sixth SBIR grant awarded to Altor for the development of its TCR and MHC molecule technologies.

About Cytomegalovirus

CMV, a member of the herpes family of viruses, is present in up to 85% of adult populations in the United States. In individuals with healthy immune systems, CMV exists in the body in a dormant state. Among immunocompromised individuals, including organ transplant recipients, patients undergoing hemodialysis, patients with cancer, patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs, and HIV-infected patients, the virus can become active and cause lethal respiratory and gastrointestinal complications or blindness. Additionally, CMV infection in newborns can cause death or severe debilitating disorders, including mental retardation, vision loss, and sensorineural deafness.