Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation and the Netherlands Cancer Institute Winners of the Amsterdam Inventor Award 2010

AMSTERDAM, June 17, 2010 - Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation (Sanquin) and the Netherlands Cancer
Institute (NKI-AVL) as a team are the winners of the 2010 Amsterdam Inventor
Award for their inventions addressing "T cell Epitope Selection and
Monitoring". The winners have been made public at the Amsterdam Inventor
Dinner last June 10th.

This is the third consecutive year that innovative researchers are placed
in the spot lights by the municipality of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam
Innovation Motor (AIM), the organizers of the event.

The Sixteen participating organization from both industry and the
scientific sector presented a total of twenty inventions at the basis for the
development of new, innovative products, processes, and/or services of which
four were nominated for winning the award. The inventions were judged by an
expert jury on innovation, quality of invention, commercial value, societal
impact, and entrepreneurship.

About "T cell Epitope Selection and Immunomonitoring"

A population of white blood cells called T killer cells protects us
against invading pathogens and cancer. This group of T cells is markedly
diverse, with almost each T cell recognizing a different antigen and thereby
being able to selectively kill cells that express this specific antigen.
Antigens are small protein fragments of eight to ten residues that are
presented on the surface of body cells as a complex with human leucocyte
antigen class I (pHLA-I complex). When vaccinating people or infusing T cells
we aim to selectively activate or select, or isolate those T cells that that
recognize antigen of interest. But how do we design these vaccines and
monitor the effect of such vaccines on a T cell level? How do we detect T
cells that recognize a virus- or cancer-associated antigen amidst the
millions of bystander T cells? Answers to these questions are the missing
keys to the anticipated development in the next decade of a significant
number of new vaccines and immuno-therapies aimed for effectively preventing
or treating infectious diseases and in some cases cancer. The combined
knowledge on peptide fragments and T cells as addressed by the new inventions
of Sanquin and NKI is instrumental to find these answers.

In a co-operation between the groups of Prof. Dr Ton Schumacher
(NKI-AVL), Dr Huib Ovaa (NKI-AVL), and Dr Wim van Esch (Sanquin) two new
technologies (patent pending) have been developed comprising: (I) A pHLA
Exchange Technology that allows production of thousands of different pHLA-I
complexes to be used to visualize killer T cells of interest, (II) A
Multiplexed T cell Imaging Technology that allows to simultaneously detection
of very many T cell populations in a single patient sample.

The two new technologies are at the basis for the preclinical development
of a broadly protective influenza A vaccine in the AmpVacs project. AmpVacs
is consortium between Sanquin, NKI-AVL and the Netherlands Vaccine Institute,
subsidised by a four years grant from the Center of Translational Medicine.
Within ongoing academic research the two technologies have been applied to
evaluate killer T cell responses in patients with melanoma and leukaemia.

About Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation

Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation (with its headquarters in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands) is an internationally reputed organization in the field of blood
banking and immuno-hematological research. Sanquin has a track record in
bringing therapeutic proteins, and in vitro diagnostic and research products
to the market and is successfully distributing a substantial product
portfolio covering these fields on the international market.

About the Netherlands Cancer Institute

The Netherlands Cancer Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital
(NKI-AVL), of which Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is patron, consists of a
scientific research laboratory and a specialized clinic. Since its foundation
in 1913, its primary objective has been to combat cancer by combining patient
care, research and education. The staff's ambition is to make a real
contribution to solving the problem of cancer thanks to the unique
interaction between scientific research and clinical application that is
woven into the fabric of the organization.

Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Ron van Eijk PhD, Business development manager, tel.: +31-20-512-3240, e-mail: r.vaneijk at sanquin.nl; Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Mr. Robert Heckert, Manager Communication, Tel.: +31-20-512-3771, e-mail: r.heckert at sanquin.nl, the Netherlands Cancer Institute; Ms Danielle Cardozo, Manager Communication, tel.: +31-20-512-2867, e-mail: d.cardozo at nki.nl