Angstrom Pharmaceuticals Announces Agreement with Calbiochem-Novabiochem Corp. for the Sale of its Proprietary uPA and uPAR Research Reagents.

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SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 20, 2000

Reagent Sales Create New Revenue Stream for Angstrom 

Angstrom Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the signing of an exclusive worldwide sales agreement with Calbiochem-Novabiochem Corp. of San Diego (Calbiochem) under which Calbiochem will distribute Angstrom's extensive catalog of reagents centered on the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR).

Calbiochem will distribute, on an OEM basis, the reagents through the global reach of its catalog with a sales and distribution network in over 74 countries.

&uot;The uPA-uPAR system has been recognized as the regulatory switchpoint that orchestrates tumor angiogenesis (blood supply) and tumor metastasis (spread to other organs). Many of the pathways associated with angiogenesis and metastasis converge on and diverge from the uPA-uPAR axis,&uot; said Terence R. Jones, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Angstrom. &uot;Angstrom's superior quality uPA/uPAR reagents, which have spun out of its internal programs to develop proprietary diagnostics and therapeutics, are now available through Calbiochem to the scientific community worldwide. This will expand non-commercial research in this important area and at the same time provide a significant revenue stream to Angstrom.&uot;

Angstrom has focused on the uPA-uPAR system, the master switch controlling the growth and spread of cancer. It has two non-toxic drugs, A6 and A36, in development that switch off the uPA-uPAR system as well as several clinical diagnostic programs based on uPAR that will allow patients to be identified as suitable to receive these drugs and to be monitored thereafter for their therapeutic effect.

Angstrom Pharmaceuticals (www.angstrominc.com) was formed in 1996 to add a new dimension to drug discovery. It is committed to discovering drugs that block extracellular cytokine-receptor interactions responsible for &uot;switching on&uot; disease processes. The company has chosen cancer as its first focus and currently has several programs in the area of metastasis and angiogenesis. Angstrom recently announced a strategic alliance with Diatide Inc., based in Londonderry, N.H., to develop radiodiagnostics and radiotherapeutics for cancer. Angstrom is currently in discussions with several major pharmaceutical companies for the outlicensing of certain aspects of this technology.

When used in this report, the words &uot;will&uot;and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, or implied. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include an inability to duplicate in the clinic results demonstrated in preclinical studies, timely development of any potential products that can be shown to be safe and effective, receiving necessary regulatory approvals, difficulties in manufacturing any of the company's potential products and the risk factors set forth from time to time in a prospectus pursuant to which Angstrom is offering securities. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.