Advanced Magnetics announces $300,000 MRI contrast agent research and product development agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 1995--Advanced Magnetics Inc. (AMEX: AVM) announced today that it has entered into a research and product development agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

Minimum payment to MGH under the agreement is $300,000, but payments could reach into seven figures depending on milestone achievements and product sales.

The co-principal investigators under the agreement will be Thomas Brady, M.D., Director of the MGH NMR Center and Ralph Weissleder, M.D., Director of the Magnetic Resonance Pharmaceutical Program. The agreement covers organ specific, receptor-directed, ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxides for use as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. The target organ for the initial collaboration is the pancreas. At the present time diagnostic imaging of the pancreas is extremely difficult and generally produces inadequate visualization for diagnosis. Cancer of the pancreas strikes about 40,000 Americans each year and improved and early diagnosis could improve therapeutic outcomes.

Jerome Goldstein, President and CEO of Advanced Magnetics, stated that "this collaboration combines the resources of what we believe to be the two finest groups in this technology area. We hope this will be the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between Advanced Magnetics and Dr. Brady's Research group at MGH."

Advanced Magnetics Inc. is a pharmaceutical company involved in the development and manufacturing of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents for diagnosis of cancer and other diseases and antiviral therapeutics for treatment of hepatitis.

CONTACT: Advanced Magnetics Inc.

Jerome Goldstein, 617/354-3929