ACU Acumentis Group Limited

Avantogen Limited, (formerly Australian Cancer Technology Limited "AustCancer")(ASX:ACU), and Hawaii Biotech, Inc. (HawaiiBio) today announced that they have signed an important worldwide, nonexclusive License Agreement under which HawaiiBio will evaluate Avantogen's proprietary adjuvant GPI-0100. HawaiiBio will develop a series of vaccines for infectious diseases and pay Avantogen milestones, sublicense fees, and royalties as their products which utilize GPI-0100 move to market. Avantogen's lead adjuvant-immunopotentiator, GPI-0100, a key component of vaccines for boosting the immune response, will be evaluated by HawaiiBio initially with vaccines for West Nile virus and dengue fever. In the case of West Nile Virus, the U.S. market potential for treating individuals at "increased risk" is estimated to be nearly $1 Billion. In the last three years, HawaiiBio has received $33 million in the most competitive funding from the National Institutes of Health and other federal and state agencies. Hawaii Biotech, Inc. is privately held and is engaged in the research and development of human vaccines, based on the production of proprietary antigens (proteins) that produce immune responses equivalent to, or better than, traditional live or inactivated virus approaches -- with a significantly improved safety profile. Hawaii's platform technology is applicable to a wide variety of diseases including West Nile, dengue fever, hepatitis C, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, Ebola, Eastern equine encephalitis and others. The Company's vaccine technology was featured on the cover of the prestigious scientific journal Nature on January 22, 2004. Virtually unknown in the U.S. prior to 1999, the West Nile virus is now permanently established throughout the U.S. and Canada. In an estimated 1 of 150 infected with West Nile, encephalitis and meningitis will occur, characterized by polio-like symptoms. Live, attenuated virus vaccines being developed by potential competitors have a small but real risk of causing severe, encephalitic West Nile disease. Hawaii Biotech's approach utilizes genetically engineered viral proteins that cannot cause disease, which confers a substantial safety advantage. Unlike most human viral diseases, West Nile causes both disease and death in animals. A well-validated model of human West Nile disease, the golden hamster, has been developed by Robert B. Tesh, M.D., of the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston and one of the leading researchers in this field. Dr. Tesh tested two formulations of Hawaii Biotech's West Nile vaccine in this model. 100% of the animals in Hawaii Biotech's two vaccine groups remained alive and healthy, compared to 77% mortality in the control group. Avantogen's GPI-0100 product is currently under license to Pfizer Animal Health Inc and Endocyte Inc. as an adjuvant to boost immunity of their vaccine-based products. Furthermore, Avantogen is actively seeking further licensees to adopt GPI-0100 as their preferred adjuvant as a component of their vaccines. Dr. Firestone, CEO of Avantogen, said, "We are excited about the potential applications of GPI-0100 in the treatment of infectious disease. I am pleased to see that our investments in GMP manufacture at Dr Reddys, and our filing of a Drug Master File with the US FDA, are bearing fruit. To service the needs of our collaborators and licensees, we are manufacturing GPI-0100 under fully FDA compliant GMP; this is being undertaken by Dr. Reddys." The GPI-0100 adjuvant, which has been shown to significantly enhance the immune response with a variety of vaccines, has been shown to have good overall performance characteristics on safety and efficacy. GPI-0100 is Avantogen's lead compound for use in the active immunotherapy of cancer and some chronic infectious diseases. A proprietary semi-synthetic saponin derivative, GPI-0100 acts by up-regulating the body's immune system and stimulating both humoral and an effective T-cell immunity with CTL production. Compared with other immune stimulatory saponins, GPI-0100 has superior stability and safety profile, making it an ideal candidate for the development of novel therapeutics or preventive vaccines. About Avantogen (www.avantogen.com) Avantogen is an international biotechnology Company developing a broad oncology-related product portfolio. Avantogen has acquired the North American marketing rights for RP101, a promising pancreatic cancer drug and is currently conducting Phase II clinical studies through a subsidiary company, Resistys Inc, a joint venture with Bioaccelerate of New York. Avantogen's Pentrys(TM) anti-cancer vaccine is being evaluated in prostate cancer patients in Phase IIb clinical studies, and the Avantogen Limited Company is advancing several immune enhancing adjuvants, including GPI-0100, which have been in three Phase I cancer trials in the U.S. The immune-enhancing adjuvants were developed by Galenica, a privately held U.S. vaccine developer. Avantogen acquired Galenica in July 2004. The Company also markets revisys(TM), a branded line of medical nutritionals designed for people with special needs, including those undergoing cancer treatments. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release that are not historical information are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause Avantogen's ("company") actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. Such potential risks and uncertainties relate, but are not limited, to the results of clinical trials, product demand and market acceptance, the impact of competitive products and pricing, effectiveness and pace of current and future product development, and regulatory approval. More detailed information on these and additional factors that could affect the company's operating and financial results are described in the company's annual reports filed or to be filed with the Australian Stock Exchange. The company urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that the company faces. The historical results achieved by the company are not necessarily indicative of its future prospects. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.