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Symphogen and Meiji Kaisha enter agreement for recombinant polyclonal antibody product COPENHAGEN, Denmark and TOKYO, Japan – December 11, 2006. Symphogen A/S and Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. (TSE: 2202) announced today that they have entered into a research, development and commercialization agreement that utilizes Symphogen’s proprietary antibody discovery and manufacturing technologies to develop a fully human recombinant polyclonal antibody (pAb) product candidate that targets a non-disclosed bacterial pathogen. “We are very pleased to be working with such a well respected company as Meiji,” commented Kirsten Drejer, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Symphogen A/S. “This collaboration represents further validation of our drug discovery technology, and may be of significant future value for Symphogen, given our co-development option in the U.S. and E.U. Importantly, this agreement also helps balance our drug development portfolio across proprietary product candidates, fully funded programs, and co-development projects.” Under the terms of the agreement, Symphogen will receive an initial technology access fee from Meiji and is eligible to receive development milestone payments as well as royalties on worldwide net sales from any successfully developed products. Meiji has agreed to fund the development costs associated with the program. Symphogen has retained certain co-development option rights in the United States and European Union. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Yours sincerely Kirsten Drejer Chief Executive Officer
About Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd. is located in Tokyo, Japan and is operating its business in the fields of confectionaries and pharmaceuticals. In the Pharmaceutical division, Meiji is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of a wide variety of pharmaceutical products throughout Japan and some countries outside of Japan, as well. The main areas of its interest are infectious diseases and CNS, and Meiji has strong capabilities and expertise in development and commercialization of antibiotic products. For more information on Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd. please visit the company’s website at www.meiji.co.jp.
About Symphogen Symphogen is the leader in developing recombinant polyclonal antibodies (pAb), a new class of biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of serious human diseases. By employing its pioneering antibody discovery and manufacturing technologies, Symphogen generates recombinant antibody compositions that capture the diversity and effectiveness of the natural immune system. Symphogen is building a proprietary product pipeline within several disease areas, including infectious diseases and cancer. Symphogen has established collaborations with international pharmaceutical companies. Symphogen’s lead program, Sym001, is planned to enter clinical trials in 2007 and will be the first recombinant polyclonal antibody to enter clinical evaluation. Sym001 is targeting the treatments of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) and Hemolytic Disease of Newborns (HDN). Symphogen also has development alliances with Biovitrum AB. Symphogen is a private biopharmaceutical company with over 75 employees, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Refer to www.symphogen.com for further information on Symphogen A/S or please contact: Kirsten Drejer, CEO of Symphogen A/S: +45 45 26 50 59 or +45 22 10 99 59 (cell); kd@symphogen.com Paul Rohricht, Vice President of Business Development: +1 484 397 4145 or +1 484 336 4583; pr@symphogen.com Media contact: Kari Watson, MacDougall Biomedical Communications +1 508 647 0909; kwatson@macbiocom.com |