Epistem Present at AACR Meeting in Denver

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - April 20, 2009) - Epistem
plc (LSE: EHP), the UK biotechnology and contract research company,
have presented results from their latest plucked hair biomarker study
at the AACR Meeting in Denver, Colorado on Sunday 19th April. The
study was to determine the specific response to oral administration
of Erlotinib, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor,
in a plucked hair preclinical model. The data itself is impressive
and endorses the utility of the plucked hair model.

In addition to tracking the gene expression and molecular pathway
change through the preclinical and clinical development of a drug,
the Erlotinib results open up the possibility for clinicians to
monitor patient specific gene responses to treatment, enabling an
early indication that the treatment will be successful. As this
diagnostic procedure is minimally invasive, patients will be able to
undergo frequent testing to confirm that the targeted gene expression
changes are correlating with the oncology treatment protocol being
used therefore predictive of a successful outcome.

The results presented support the thesis that the plucked hair
biomarker platform provides a simple, minimally invasive means of
monitoring the specific response of epithelial tissue to oncology
agents targeted to discrete signaling pathways. This data has been
generated using the established oncology agent, Erlotinib, which is
used widely to treat advanced non small cell lung cancer and in
combination for pancreatic cancer. It is also being researched for
other indications. Together with previous human and preclinical
results, this data showed that effective levels of RNA can be
obtained for gene expression measurement.

The abstract will be available on request following the presentation.

For further information on the Company, please visit
www.epistem.co.uk.

Contacts:
Epistem plc
Lydia Meyer Turkson
Biomarker Director
[phone]
[e-mail]
www.epistem.co.uk

De Facto Communications
Mike Wort / Anna Dunphy
Financial PR/IR
[phone]


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