Saegis Pharmaceuticals Broadens Research Collaboration With Johns Hopkins University.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

HALF MOON BAY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2002

Agreements Will Allow Saegis to Integrate Parallax(TM) Platform Into

Its Drug Discovery and Development Efforts

Saegis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines to protect and enhance mental function, today announced that it has signed a comprehensive sponsored research agreement with Johns Hopkins University and engaged one of the institution's most respected memory researchers, Michela Gallagher, Ph.D., in a multi-year consulting contract.

The agreements build on an existing research relationship and give the company exclusive access to a unique drug development platform designed to identify and evaluate compounds for treating age-related cognitive decline.

"This development platform, named Parallax(TM), is the culmination of more than a decade of work by Dr. Gallagher and a year of collaboration between her lab at Johns Hopkins University and Saegis," said Rodney Pearlman, Ph.D., president and CEO of Saegis Pharmaceuticals.

"Under these new research agreements, we will utilize Parallax(TM) to reinforce the clinical evaluation of our growing portfolio of in-licensed molecules as well as to identify novel targets for development."

Parallax(TM) is based on Gallagher's extensive studies to characterize the differential effects of naturally occurring age-dependent cognitive impairment on memory and learning.

By allowing comparisons between genes expressed in young, "normal" old, and memory-impaired old rats, the model produces a comprehensive profile of age-related cognitive decline, rather than an analysis of a single suspected mechanism or process. Furthermore, the model provides the unique capability to identify novel targets and ultimately evaluate drug candidates in the same aged animal model.

"The collaboration with Saegis has allowed us to confirm that naturally occurring cognitive impairment in the aged animal model provides a highly relevant analog for the progression and variability of cognitive decline experienced in humans," said Gallagher, chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, at Johns Hopkins University.

To date, Saegis has utilized Parallax(TM) to gauge the clinical potential of its two lead compounds, SGS742 and SGS111, both of which have now completed Phase II human trials in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a gradual decline in memory function that affects an estimated 4.5 million people over age 60 in the United States.

"It is significant that preclinical results in the animal model have shown predictive validity with these compounds. This bodes well for additional future developments using the platform as a discovery tool," said Gallagher.

The new research collaboration will focus on the identification of novel compounds by profiling gene expression in the aged rat model using chip-based gene arrays and by deploying a behavioral test battery for in vivo preclinical evaluation of candidate compounds.

Under the terms of the agreement, Saegis has an exclusive option to obtain licenses from Johns Hopkins University to inventions resulting from this joint research, including products with potential in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention or screening of disorders of memory and cognition in humans.

Founded in 1999, Saegis Pharmaceuticals (pronounced say-jis) is a pioneer in the clinical development of new medications for protecting and enhancing memory and mental function. Through licensing activity, its novel discovery platform, and development partnerships, Saegis Pharmaceuticals is building a portfolio of compounds with activity against a range of disorders of the brain and central nervous system.

For more information, visit www.saegispharma.com.

Professor Gallagher's research program is based in the area of Systems Neuroscience and the study of learning and memory. In addition to her position as chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, Gallagher heads the Neurogenetics and Behavior Center. For more information, visit www.psy.jhu.edu/fs/faculty/gallagher.html.