Cantab Pharmaceuticals plc dropped a chicken pox and shingles vaccine it was developing in collaboration with the Japanese company Kaketsuken. The aim was to disable the virus' reproductive capabilities using Cantab's DISC technology.

Cantab said the initial objective of the program, to establish if varicella zoster virus could be grown and purified in sufficient quantity, was achieved. However, "the companies have agreed not to proceed to the next stage in view of other R&D priorities."

Cantab, of Cambridge, UK, made the disclosure as it released results for the six months ended June 30, showing revenues of #3.8 million (US$6.2 million), compared to #2.1 million for the same period in 1998. For both periods most of the money came from milestone payments from Glaxo Wellcome plc under the collaboration on DISC HSV, a genital herpes vaccine. Revenues in the first half of 1999 included a payment of #1 million, triggered when Glaxo decided to take DISC HSV into Phase II.

The net loss was #3.3 million, compared to #2.9 million for the first six months of 1998. The cash balance at June 30 was #29.2 million, against #31.2 million at the start of the year.

The company also said that preclinical testing of TA-CIN, a vaccine candidate to treat cervical displasia, has been successfully completed. Clinical trial material has been manufactured and the start of a Phase I safety and immunogenicity trial is planned before the end of the year.