CombinatoRx and Fovea Enter Into Collaboration to Develop Novel Ophthalmic Therapeutics Built from Synergistic Drug Combinations.BOSTON & PARIS Paris, in Greek mythology Paris or Alexander, in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. Because it was prophesied that he would cause the destruction of Troy, Paris was abandoned on Mt. -- Collaboration To Leverage CombinatoRx Approach And Fovea Expertise To Provide New Product Candidates And Commercial Territories To Both Companies CombinatoRx, Incorporated (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : CRXX) and Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA today announced a collaboration for the potential development and commercialization of combination drugs to treat ophthalmic diseases. The agreement unites CombinatoRx's leadership in the systematic discovery of novel combination drug candidates with Fovea's drug development resources and expertise in the field of ophthalmic therapeutics. "Fovea is dedicated to creating the next generation of drugs to treat disorders of the eye and we look forward to working with their development team to advance CombinatoRx's product candidates into the ophthalmic space," said Alexis Borisy, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CombinatoRx. "This deal exemplifies the continued execution of our strategy to capture the value created by CombinatoRx's portfolio of product candidates and provides an innovative and financially compelling way to mobilize into a new specialty business. In this deal we access specialty development expertise, non-dilutive capital and retain significant product rights." "This exciting relationship allows us to immediately leverage our preclinical and clinical team and scientific capabilities by seeking to create novel ophthalmic drugs built from CombinatoRx synergistic combinations," said Bernard Gilly, Co-Founder CEO and Chairman of Fovea. "In addition, this deal is consistent with our strategy of building a fully integrated ophthalmology ophthalmology (ŏf'thălmŏl`əjē), branch of medicine specializing in the anatomy, function and diseases of the eye. Ophthalmologists specialize in the medical and surgical treatment of eye disorders, vision measurements for franchise. This collaboration will result in Fovea receiving important marketing rights to anchor our future commercial business in exchange for our development investment." Under the terms of the agreement, Fovea has agreed to fund and conduct pre-clinical and clinical development of combination drug candidates it selects from the CombinatoRx portfolio, including creating ophthalmic formulations. Fovea has agreed to develop promising combination candidates up to the start of Phase III clinical trials Noun 1. phase III clinical trial - a large clinical trial of a treatment or drug that in phase I and phase II has been shown to be efficacious with tolerable side effects; after successful conclusion of these clinical trials it will receive formal approval from the . In exchange for Fovea's development investment, CombinatoRx will grant to Fovea exclusive commercial rights to selected products in Europe and certain additional countries. CombinatoRx will jointly own new intellectual property and data generated by Fovea up to Phase III Noun 1. phase III - a large clinical trial of a treatment or drug that in phase I and phase II has been shown to be efficacious with tolerable side effects; after successful conclusion of these clinical trials it will receive formal approval from the FDA trials and retains the rights to develop and commercialize the ophthalmic products in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and certain other countries. The parties will have co-exclusive rights in Japan and Taiwan. CombinatoRx and Fovea may choose to jointly pursue Phase III trials and regulatory approval of the product candidates in preparation for launch in their respective territories. Under the agreement, CombinatoRx will also grant to Fovea an exclusive worldwide license to certain preclinical drug combinations to treat allergic and inflammatory diseases of the front of the eye. For these licensed compounds, CombinatoRx is eligible to receive up to approximately $20 million in upfront and development and regulatory milestone payments for the first product candidate successfully developed, and an additional milestone payment for the approval of a product in an additional indication. CombinatoRx is also eligible to receive royalties for each licensed product commercialized by Fovea. About CombinatoRx CombinatoRx, Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new medicines built from synergistic combinations of approved drugs, designed to attack disease on multiple fronts. CombinatoRx applies its proprietary combination drug discovery technology to identify new combination product candidates in a number of disease areas, including immunoinflammatory disease, oncology, metabolic disease metabolic disease, n a disorder that causes dysfunction of the metabolic action of the body, resulting in loss of control of homeostasis. paraneoplastic syndrome , neurodegenerative disease Neurodegenerative disease A disease in which the nervous system progressively and irreversibly deteriorates. Mentioned in: Amnesia , and infectious disease Infectious disease A pathological condition spread among biological species. Infectious diseases, although varied in their effects, are always associated with viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites and aberrant proteins known as prions. . By applying our proprietary screening technology, we have discovered and advanced into clinical trials a portfolio of seven product candidates targeting multiple diseases. For further information, please visit the CombinatoRx website at www.combinatorx.com About Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA (Fovea) is a Paris-based biopharmaceutical company specialized in development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases (dry eye, age related macular degeneration macular degeneration, eye disorder causing loss of central vision. The affected area, the macula, lies at the back of the retina and is the part that produces the sharpest vision. , retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis Pigmentosa Definition Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) refers to a group of inherited disorders that slowly lead to blindness due to abnormalities of the photoreceptors (primarily the rods) in the retina. , diabetic retinopathy diabetic retinopathy n. Retinal changes occurring in long-term diabetes and characterized by punctate hemorrhages, microaneurysms, and sharply defined waxy exudates. ), with a special focus on retinal pathologies. Created in May 2005, Fovea has a highly experienced board and management team, including Bernard Gilly, Chairman and CEO, Professor Jose-Alain Sahel, Chief Scientific Advisor, and Pierre Belichard, COO. Fovea has been funded by five leading European investors led by Sofinnova Partners and including Abingworth Management, The Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a United Kingdom-based charity established in 1936 to administer the fortune of the American-born pharmaceutical magnate Sir Henry Wellcome. Its income was derived from what was originally called Burroughs Wellcome & Co, later renamed in the UK as the , GIMV and Credit Agricole Private Equity. Fovea raised a Series A financing round of $25 million (EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 20.5million) in November 2005. For further information, please visit the Fovea website at www.fovea-pharma.com Forward-Looking Statement forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995 concerning CombinatoRx, its and Fovea's plans for research and development, the performance of CombinatoRx and Fovea under the research and license agreement, its drug discovery technology, and its collaboration strategy. These forwardlooking statements about future expectations, plans and prospects of CombinatoRx involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including risks related to the unproven nature of the Company's drug discovery technology, the Company's and Fovea's ability to initiate and successfully complete clinical trials of product candidates, potential difficulty and delays in obtaining regulatory approval for the sale and marketing of its product candidates, the Company's ability to obtain additional funding for its research and development, the ability of CombinatoRx and Fovea to successfully perform under the research and license agreement and those other risks that can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of CombinatoRx's Registration Statement on Form S-1 on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those CombinatoRx projects. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent CombinatoRx's views as of the date of this release. CombinatoRx anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while CombinatoRx may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, CombinatoRx specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, other than as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing CombinatoRx's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release. (c) 2006 CombinatoRx, Incorporated. All rights reserved. |
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