Amorfix Also Achieves Third and Final Milestone Under Biogen Idec Agreement
TORONTO, CANADA | November 26, 2008 | Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on treatments and diagnostics for brain wasting diseases, announced today that it has achieved the third and final milestone under the 2006 research, investment and option agreement with Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB) to discover novel treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease). "The successful completion of the research alliance with Biogen Idec validates the company’s approach to develop treatments for misfolded protein diseases," said Dr. George Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Amorfix. "We are looking forward to passing the baton to Biogen, who have the resources to quickly progress to the clinical evaluation of our ALS therapies."
Biogen Idec has an option to license the Amorfix technology for ALS under already defined terms and would be responsible for completing preclinical and clinical development, regulatory approvals, manufacturing and commercialization. If the option is exercised, Amorfix will receive an upfront cash payment and potential milestone payments in excess of US$25 million under the license agreement. Amorfix will also receive royalties on commercial product sales. Biogen Idec must make one final small investment in Amorfix by December 10, 2008 to maintain the option to license the therapies for use in ALS, which must be exercised by February 10, 2009 or the rights expire.
Amorfix achieved the first milestone in July 2007 with the creation of Disease Specific Epitope (DSE(TM)) monoclonal antibodies for misfolded superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1); and the second milestone in October 2008 with the demonstration that DSE(TM) antibody treatments significantly improved survival in an animal model of ALS. The third and final milestone was achieved by submitting to Biogen Idec a comprehensive final report on all the research performed during the program.
About Amorfix
Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. (TSX: AMF) is a theranostics company developing therapeutic products and diagnostic devices targeting brain-wasting diseases including ALS, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). Amorfix’s proprietary Epitope Protectio (EP(TM)) technology enables it to specifically identify very low levels of aggregated misfolded proteins (AMP) in a sample of normal protein. Aggregated misfolded proteins are a common element of many brain wasting diseases and the ability to identify AMPs and understand their structure and mechanism of folding are the first steps to developing new treatments for these devastating diseases. Amorfix’s lead programs are a diagnostic blood screening test for vCJD and a therapy for ALS.
SOURCE: Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd.
Post Views: 68
Amorfix Also Achieves Third and Final Milestone Under Biogen Idec Agreement
TORONTO, CANADA | November 26, 2008 | Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on treatments and diagnostics for brain wasting diseases, announced today that it has achieved the third and final milestone under the 2006 research, investment and option agreement with Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB) to discover novel treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease). "The successful completion of the research alliance with Biogen Idec validates the company’s approach to develop treatments for misfolded protein diseases," said Dr. George Adams, Chief Executive Officer of Amorfix. "We are looking forward to passing the baton to Biogen, who have the resources to quickly progress to the clinical evaluation of our ALS therapies."
Biogen Idec has an option to license the Amorfix technology for ALS under already defined terms and would be responsible for completing preclinical and clinical development, regulatory approvals, manufacturing and commercialization. If the option is exercised, Amorfix will receive an upfront cash payment and potential milestone payments in excess of US$25 million under the license agreement. Amorfix will also receive royalties on commercial product sales. Biogen Idec must make one final small investment in Amorfix by December 10, 2008 to maintain the option to license the therapies for use in ALS, which must be exercised by February 10, 2009 or the rights expire.
Amorfix achieved the first milestone in July 2007 with the creation of Disease Specific Epitope (DSE(TM)) monoclonal antibodies for misfolded superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1); and the second milestone in October 2008 with the demonstration that DSE(TM) antibody treatments significantly improved survival in an animal model of ALS. The third and final milestone was achieved by submitting to Biogen Idec a comprehensive final report on all the research performed during the program.
About Amorfix
Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. (TSX: AMF) is a theranostics company developing therapeutic products and diagnostic devices targeting brain-wasting diseases including ALS, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). Amorfix’s proprietary Epitope Protectio (EP(TM)) technology enables it to specifically identify very low levels of aggregated misfolded proteins (AMP) in a sample of normal protein. Aggregated misfolded proteins are a common element of many brain wasting diseases and the ability to identify AMPs and understand their structure and mechanism of folding are the first steps to developing new treatments for these devastating diseases. Amorfix’s lead programs are a diagnostic blood screening test for vCJD and a therapy for ALS.
SOURCE: Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd.
Post Views: 68
