BG Medicine to Conduct Joint Biomarker Discovery Study for Muscle Toxicity with Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- BG Medicine Inc. today announced a collaborative preclinical research study into the biochemical origins of muscle toxicity and associated biomarkers with Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation (Osaka, Japan).

BG Medicine (BGM) will apply their proprietary, integrated systems approach based on proteomics, metabolomics and computational analyses to describe the molecular effects of selected lipid lowering agents on skeletal muscle and to identify specific plasma biomarkers of these effects. Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation will contribute transcript, clinical chemistry and histopathology data to the effort.

Muscle toxicity in lipid- lowering agents, a common adverse effect of these agents, covers a broad spectrum from mild and transient muscle pain to the extremely rare but serious acute muscle destruction.

"This exciting project uses BG Medicine's commercial systems toxicology platform to characterize and compare the molecular effects of two lipid lowering compounds at the dosages in which histopathological changes in muscle were observed in some animals", said Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine. "In this context it is a great example of how systems toxicology and pharmacology provide early insightful biology for pertinent drug development decisions."

Under this agreement BG Medicine and Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation will jointly own certain rights to the project data and biomarkers.

About BG Medicine (BGM) BG Medicine was founded in 2000 by scientific leaders in systems biology and Flagship Ventures (Cambridge, MA.) to pioneer commercial applications of molecular systems analysis and pharmacodynamics. The company's proprietary method of integrating multiple analytical platforms (proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics) allows BG Medicine to quickly identify biomarkers in disease and in novel drug development. Several leading U.S. and European pharmaceutical companies are utilizing BG Medicine's platform to correlate various disease effects with new classes of drugs. Recently the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development selected BG Medicine to identify biomarkers for new drugs in the treatment of tuberculosis. www.bg-medicine.com.

About Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation (MPC):

Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation, a research-driven pharmaceutical company, is the core member in the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings group, under which Mitsubishi Chemical, a leading chemical company in Japan, and Mitsubishi Pharma exist as wholly subsidiaries. The company is committed to scientific progress, pharmaceutical advancement and the creation of products that benefit worldwide people's welfare. Its core therapeutic areas are cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, psychiatric and central nervous system diseases, immunological and respiratory diseases, and hepatic diseases. More information about the company can be found by visiting http://www.m-pharma.co.jp/.