FibroGen Receives Patent for Use of Growth Factor for Fibroproliferative Disorders.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 1999--

FibroGen, Inc. today announced receipt of U.S. Patent No. 5,916,756, issued on June 29, 1999, for Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and its diagnostic use in cell proliferative disorders such as kidney fibrosis, scleroderma, pulmonary fibrosis, arthritis, hypertropic scarring, and atherosclerosis.

CTGF is produced by connective tissue cells during development. As CTGF is overexpressed in fibrotic disorders, it represents a very specific target for the development of anti-fibrotic therapeutics. FibroGen scientists have inhibited CTGF at key junctures through the use of small molecules and neutralizing antibodies that bind to and block the activities of this important cytokine. Using FibroGen's new technology, CTGF can also be useful in diagnosing fibroproliferative disorders as well as in monitoring disease progression and therapy effectiveness.

The inventors on U.S. Patent No. 5,916,756, who also discovered CTGF, are Dr. Gary Grotendorst, a professor in the department of cell biology and anatomy at the University of Miami and a FibroGen collaborator, and FibroGen scientist Dr. Douglass Bradham Jr. FibroGen holds the exclusive license to intellectual property related to CTGF and to the use of CTGF in the development of anti-fibrotic therapeutics. FibroGen's proprietary technologies support ongoing research relating to, for example, the role of CTGF in diabetic nephropathy, hypertension, and other kidney disorders, in angiogenesis and other proliferative processes which play central roles in atherosclerosis, arthritis, and other disease states, and in skin, cardiac, and pulmonary fibrosis, etc.

"In general, severe fibrosis involving kidney, liver, lung and the cardiovascular system progress without any rapid way to monitor the disorder," said Thomas B. Neff, CEO and president of FibroGen. "By determining the level of CTGF peptides in human fluids, including urine, blood and bronchial lavage fluid, physicians may more effectively track fibrotic disorders, which are marked by high levels of tissue scarring that ultimately can lead to a loss of organ function. This technology builds upon and extends FibroGen's commitment to develop new products that address the serious problem of fibrosis. We are encouraged by the continuing progress of our CTGF team as well as the competitive protection afforded to our programs by patents such as this."

FibroGen is a private biotechnology company focusing on the development of novel anti-fibrotic pharmaceuticals and recombinant collagen and gelatin biomaterials. The company leverages its extracellular matrix biology expertise and comprehensive intellectual property portfolio with an extensive internal and external research and development effort. FibroGen's business model is driven by the near-term market introduction of recombinant collagens and biosynthetic gelatins with longer-term drug development programs addressing major unmet medical needs in dermal scarring, deep organ fibrosis and tissue regeneration. More information on FibroGen is available at the corporate web site http://www.fibrogen.com.