Published Research

Synairgen plc
22 March 2005


                                  SYNAIRGEN PLC


                    RESEARCH IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL NEW THERAPY
                         FOR ASTHMATICS TO COMBAT COLDS

  Novel use of Interferon-ss to treat or prevent virus-induced asthma attacks

Southampton, UK - Synairgen plc ('Synairgen' or the 'Company'), the drug
discovery company focused on identifying the underlying causes of, and
treatments for, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ('COPD'),
announced today that a team, led by Synairgen's Founders, Professors Stephen
Holgate and Donna Davies at the University of Southampton, has published new
data in the Journal of Experimental Medicine identifying a potential novel
treatment to reduce virus-induced asthma attacks or exacerbations.

The common cold virus or rhinovirus is a major trigger of asthma symptoms,
frequently leading to hospitalisation. The team at Southampton has investigated
the underlying mechanisms behind this and observed a difference in virus
replication between lung epithelial cells from asthmatic and healthy control
subjects. Furthermore, the team has identified a deficiency in the production of
interferon-ss (a chemical messenger and a therapy prescribed for the treatment
of multiple sclerosis (MS)), which triggers normal programmed cell death
(apoptosis) of infected epithelial cells. This deliberate sacrifice reduces
viral replication, thereby reducing the spread of virus within the lungs.

The data from this in vitro work showed that viral replication increased around
50 fold in asthmatic bronchial epithelial cell cultures compared to healthy
controls. Treating the cells with interferon-ss normalised the asthmatic cells'
response to rhinovirus infection. The results suggest that inhaled interferon-ss
could be used in the treatment or prevention of rhinovirus-induced asthma
attacks. Synairgen has exclusively licensed this discovery, for which a patent
application has been filed by the University of Southampton, and has a
proprietary programme to develop interferon-ss as a therapy for asthma.

Professor Stephen Holgate said, 'The common cold virus, or rhinovirus, is a
major trigger for asthma symptoms, frequently leading to hospitalisation of
sufferers. Eight out of ten asthma attacks in children and four out of ten in
adults are triggered by viral infections, such as colds or flu. The cost to the
NHS of hospitalisation for asthma sufferers in general is over £850 million per
year.'

A copy of the paper is available via the Journal of Experimental Medicine
website: http://www.jem.org.
                                     -Ends-

For further information, please contact:

Synairgen                                Tel: [phone]
Richard Marsden

Hogarth Partnership                      Tel: [phone]
Melanie Toyne-Sewell
Georgina Briscoe

Notes to Editors

1.      Background to the Company
Synairgen was founded by Professors Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko
Djukanovic (the 'Founders'), a world-renowned respiratory research team from the
University of Southampton (the 'University'), and spun-out from the University
in June 2003, supported by funding from IP2IPO Group plc. In October 2004 the
Company floated on AiM, raising £10.0 million (£9.0 million net of expenses) to
enhance its research and development capabilities and invest in its proprietary
programmes.

Synairgen seeks to commercialise a number of drug discovery opportunities,
through its own internal research programmes and those that have been carefully
selected from the wider range of research projects led by the Founders in their
academic roles, and which offer out-licensing opportunities. The Group intends
to out-license its IP at an early stage (pre-Phase II) rather than committing
significant capital resources to late-stage clinical trials.

Since June 2003, the Company has made significant progress: two proprietary
programmes in the field of asthma have been initiated and the Company has signed
four agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Merck
Frosst (affiliate of Merck & Co Inc), Cambridge Antibody Technology and Centocor
Inc (part of Johnson and Johnson). Synairgen is currently discussing further
collaboration agreements.

2.      Asthma
According to the World Health Organisation, between 100 and 150 million people
around the globe suffer from asthma and this number is rising. Asthma prevalence
in the UK is now 3-4 times higher in adults and 6 times higher in children than
it was 25 years ago, and currently it accounts for 1,400 deaths in the UK per
year. In the United States, there are approximately 17-20 million sufferers and
the cost is estimated to be about $13 billion per annum. There are limited
therapies available for severe asthma and the potential for treatments
satisfying this largely unmet need is significant, as demonstrated by the
projected sales of $3.3 billion in 2012 for Xolair(R).

3.      COPD
COPD encompasses a number of diseases, including the smoking-related lung
diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The prevalence of COPD is estimated
at 16-17% in the US and Europe. Globally it is killing 2.7 million people per
annum and is forecast to become the third largest cause of death in the world by
2020. COPD is underserved by current treatments.

Sales of pharmaceutical products used to treat asthma and COPD in major
pharmaceutical markets in 2002 were estimated to be $7.0 billion and $2.7
billion respectively and are forecast to reach $12.8 billion and $5.8 billion in
2012.




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