SRI International and Blanca Pharmaceuticals Collaborate to Develop Antibiotics for Drug-Resistant Infections.

Candidates Show Promise as Therapies Against Resistant Bacteria

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, and Blanca Pharmaceuticals, a company discovering and developing antibiotics for serious bacterial infections, today announced they will jointly develop and conduct final preclinical studies of Blanca's carbacephem antibiotic drug candidates, now in late-stage preclinical development. SRI serves as Blanca's incubator, providing laboratory services and facilities for many of Blanca's drug development needs.

SRI and Blanca will study compounds BP-101 and BP-102, which have broad-spectrum bactericidal activity against the most problematic Gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and epidermidis (MRSA/E), penicillin-resistant streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), as well as most Gram-negative bacteria. These activity profiles make compounds BP-101 and BP-102 ideal candidates for empiric therapy against hospital-acquired infections when the causative pathogen is unknown. It is estimated that five to ten percent of hospital patients acquire a drug-resistant infection they did not have prior to admission.

Blanca's compounds will initially be developed as parenteral (injection or infusion) formulations. Medicinal chemistry research is underway to also discover oral formulations for the primary treatment of community-acquired infections and oral "step-down" therapy (switch from intravenous to oral form of antibiotic) for hospitalized patients.

The studies will support Investigational New Drug (IND) application filings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Blanca will retain worldwide, exclusive commercialization rights to the compounds. SRI participates in the development and incubation efforts scientifically and has an option to take an ownership interest in Blanca.

"SRI has a several decades-long history of drug discovery and development for infectious disease. Working with Blanca's seasoned management team and experts, we look forward to the successful development of their carbacephem antibiotic candidates, which have shown an excellent efficacy profile against major clinical targets. This program is an important addition to SRI's translational medicine activities that connect research to patient care," said Edward Spack, Ph.D., senior director of business development in SRI's Biosciences Division.

"Blanca is pleased to collaborate with SRI on the development of our carbacephem antibiotics. Our parenteral and oral programs will benefit from SRI's superb record in drug development, their extensive capabilities as an R&D and contract research organization (CRO), and established relationships with the business community," said Jim Rurka, Blanca's chief business officer.

About Blanca Pharmaceuticals, LLC 

Blanca Pharmaceuticals, LLC is a privately held California Limited Liability Company dedicated to discovering and developing parenteral and oral carbacephem antibiotics for the improved treatment of serious human bacterial infections, including those caused by resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

The Company is focused exclusively on one development-stage parenteral carbacephem product, and one discovery-stage oral carbacephem program:

* BP-102/Tazobactam, a parenteral, bactericidal fixed combination of a proprietary broad-spectrum carbacephem compound and a well-established b-lactamase inhibitor, now in late-stage preclinical development. This product is designed for broad-spectrum empiric therapy in the hospital setting, having both a solid Gram-negative spectrum (including excellent activity against emerging strains of resistant Acinetobacter), and superb efficacy against today's most problematic Gram-positive pathogens, such as MRSA/E, GISA, PRSP and VRE.

* An early, exploratory oral carbacephem program, seeking to discover an orally-active prodrug of BP-101 or BP-102, for primary use in the outpatient / community setting, and for in-hospital "step-down" therapy.

About SRI's Biosciences Division

SRI International's Biosciences Division is an organization of approximately 200 people with all of the resources necessary to take biological and chemical research programs from "idea to IND"[TM] - from initial discovery to investigational new drug applications to start human clinical trials. SRI Biosciences is a unique organization: it conducts basic research like a university, performs drug discovery and develops biologics like a biotechnology company, and is a contract research organization (CRO) that offers a full range of preclinical development and pharmaceutical sciences services. SRI Biosciences specializes in cancer, immunology, infectious disease, and neurosciences research.

To date, SRI has developed nine drugs internally that have entered clinical trials, with several more currently undergoing preclinical evaluation. Marketed examples of these drugs include bexarotene and halofantrine. Additionally, working with government and industry partners, SRI has helped advance more than 100 drugs into clinical trials, and more than 30 drugs onto the market. Through collaborations with other divisions at SRI, Biosciences is also working at the interfaces of science to create technical platforms for the next generation of drug discovery and development in areas such as drug delivery, diagnostics, and systems biology.

About SRI International

Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses, and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships, and creates spin-off companies.