UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form
6-K
Report
of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For
July
19, 2006
Commission
File Number: 000-51310
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
750
Lexington Avenue, 20th
Floor
New
York, New York 10022
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
Indicate
by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form,
the
registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
If
“Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-
N/A
XTL
Provides Update on HepeX-B Program
New
York,
NY, July 19, 2006 - XTL Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ: XTLB, LSE: XTL, TASE:
XTL) provided today an update on HepeX-B - a drug candidate for the prevention
of re-infection with Hepatitis B following liver transplantation.
HepeX-B™
was discovered and developed by XTL, and was licensed to Cubist Pharmaceuticals
in June 2004.
In
December 2005, Cubist announced the positive results of a Phase 2B study with
HepeX-B, based on which Cubist planned to meet with the FDA to discuss a
proposed Phase 3 trial design.
During
its quarterly investor conference call held earlier today, Cubist reported
that
the FDA direction on the regulatory pathway for approval creates both
operational and economic challenges. The size of the safety population the
FDA
is looking for translates to an extremely lengthy development timeline, as
there
are only about 500 liver transplants due to hepatitis B each year--across the
U.S. and Europe. At this point, Cubist has decided not to make any further
investment in the HepeX-B program while the company evaluates strategic options
for HepeX-B.
Ron
Bentsur, XTL’s CEO, commented: “While we are disappointed, we consider the
economic impact of Cubist’s decision on XTL to be nominal as due to the size of
the market for HepeX-B, we do not believe that the potential royalties from
Cubist constituted a value driver for XTL. The key value drivers for XTL remain
the two clinical programs in Hepatitis C, the pre-clinical program for
Hepatitis C, and our in-licensing program.”
ABOUT
XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, LTD.
XTLbio
is
engaged in the acquisition, development and commercialization of therapeutics
for the treatment of infectious diseases, with a focus on hepatitis C. XTLbio
is
developing XTL-2125 - a small molecule, non-nucleoside inhibitor of the
hepatitis C virus polymerase - presently in Phase 1 clinical trials in patients
with chronic hepatitis C. XTLbio is also developing XTL-6865 - a combination
of
two monoclonal antibodies against the hepatitis C virus - presently in Phase
1
clinical trials in patients with chronic hepatitis C. XTLbio’s hepatitis C
pipeline also includes several families of pre-clinical hepatitis C small
molecules. XTLbio is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, London, and Tel-Aviv Stock
Exchanges (NASDAQ: XTLB; LSE: XTL; TASE: XTL).
Contact:
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XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
Ron
Bentsur, Chief Executive Officer
212-531-5960
rbentsur@xtlbio.com
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Redington,
Inc.
Thomas
Redington
203.222.7399
212.926.1733
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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XTL
BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
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| Date:
July 20, 2006 |
By: |
/s/ Ron
Bentsur |
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Ron
Bentsur |
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Chief
Executive Officer
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