GPC Biotech and Ingenium receive joint drug discovery grant from German government.

GPC Biotech AG (Martinsried/Munich, Germany), focused on discovering and developing new anticancer drugs, and Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG (Martinsried/Munich, Germany), with the therapeutic focus on pain, announced the joint receipt of a grant totaling euro 2.2 million in committed funding from the BMBF (German Ministry for Education and Research) through its BioChancePLUS program. Each company is to receive grant money totaling euro 1.1 million until the year 2007.

This funding will support collaborative drug discovery efforts with the goal of rapidly advancing novel drug targets toward clinical testing. The grant was transferred from Axxima Pharmaceuticals to GPC Biotech and involves collaborative work initiated between Axxima and Ingenium. The goal of the collaboration is to establish proof of concept for the activity of specific kinase inhibitors in animal models covering several disease areas.

Bernd R. Seizinger, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of GPC Biotech, said, "We are very pleased with the value already being generated by the new employees we hired and the expanded capabilities brought in through the Axxima acquisition. The BioChance Plus funding will help us to further optimize the value of the expertise we acquired when we purchased the Axxima assets. In addition, the program offers significant upside potential if any compounds discovered under the collaboration move forward in development or eventually make it to the market."

"Ingenium sees great potential that this joint research continues with the capabilities and commitment of GPC Biotech," commented Michael Nehls, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Ingenium. "As part of the work to date, Ingenium has applied its disease-specific in vivo expertise to advance several high-value kinase discoveries that have strategic potential for Ingenium's therapeutic research or provide the option for generating value with a third party. We are pleased to have government support for these exciting projects and the further collaboration with GPC Biotech."

GPC Biotech AG is a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing new anticancer drugs. The company's lead product candidate - satraplatin - is currently in a Phase 3 registrational trial as a second-line chemotherapy treatment in hormone-refractory prostate cancer following successful completion of a Special Protocol Assessment by the United States FDA and receipt of a Scientific Advice letter from the European central regulatory authority, EMEA. The FDA has also granted fast track designation to satraplatin for this indication. Satraplatin was in-licensed from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Other anticancer programs include: a monoclonal antibody with a novel mechanism-of-action against a variety of lymphoid tumors, currently in Phase 1 clinical development, and a small molecule broad-spectrum cell cycle inhibitor, currently in pre-clinical development. The company is leveraging its drug discovery technologies to elucidate the mechanisms-of-action of drug candidates and to support the growth of its drug pipeline. GPC Biotech also has a multi-year alliance with ALTANA Pharma AG working with the ALTANA Research Institute in the United States, which provides GPC Biotech with revenues through mid-2007. GPC Biotech's wholly owned United States subsidiary has research and development sites in Waltham, Massachusetts and Princeton, New Jersey.

Ingenium is advancing its expertise in drug target discovery and genetics-based therapeutic research toward the development of novel treatments for pain. To date, Ingenium has used its forward and reverse genetics technologies for its partners and for its internal drug development programs. Ingenium's largest partnership is a multi-year drug discovery and development collaboration with Elan in the area of neuropathic pain. In addition, Ingenium has signed numerous agreements across the biopharmaceutical industry and academia to provide genetic expertise and animal models. Privately held, Ingenium has raised three rounds of funding from premier United States and European venture funds.

GPC Biotech AG

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www.gpc-biotech.com

Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG

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www.ingenium-ag.com