Pharnext and Ipsen : exclusive research, development and marketing agreement

Paris (France), 15 June 2009 - The agreement concerns innovative drug candidates issued from the Pleotherapy™ technology intended for the treatment of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease - Ipsen (Euronext : IPN), an innovation-driven global pharmaceutical Group and Pharnext SAS, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative treatments, announced they have entered into an exclusive research, development and marketing agreement regarding innovative drug candidates intended for the treatment of Charcot Marie-Tooth disease, issued from the Pleotherapy™ technology. According to this agreement, Ipsen has been granted an option to Pharnext programme and subscribes to the issuing of convertible bonds of the company...

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About Ipsen
Ipsen is an innovation-driven international specialty pharmaceutical group with over 20 products on the market and a total worldwide staff of nearly 4,200. Its development strategy is based on a combination of specialty products, which are growth drivers, in targeted therapeutic areas (oncology, endocrinology and neurology), and primary care products which contribute significantly to its research financing. The location of its four Research & Development centres (Paris, Boston, Barcelona, London) and its peptide and protein engineering platform give the Group a competitive edge in gaining access to leading university research teams and highly qualified personnel. More than 800 people in R&D are dedicated to the discovery and development of innovative drugs for patient care. This strategy is also supported by an active policy of partnerships. In 2008, Research and Development expenditure was about €183 million, close to 19% of consolidated sales, which amounted to €971 million while total revenues exceeded €1 billion. Ipsen’s shares are traded on Segment A of Euronext Paris (stock code: IPN, ISIN code: FR0010259150). Ipsen’s shares are eligible to the “Service de Règlement Différé” (“SRD”) and the Group is part of the SBF 120 index.

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About Pharnext
Pharnext is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and licensing new pharmaceutical treatments based on intelligent Pleocompounds™ that form the basis of Pleodrugs™. Pharnext was founded in Paris, France in April, 2007, by Daniel Cohen, MD, PhD, his research group (composed of pioneers in genome science and technology) and Philippe Pouletty, MD (General Partner at Truffle Capital). Thanks to Truffle Capital's founding investment, strong support from OSEO, a grant from AFM (The French Muscular Dystrophy Association) and the benefits of France's research tax credit scheme, Pharnext has developed a new proprietary platform (PleotherapyTM) based on network pharmacology and which may provide a solution for the current 3/3 decline in pharmaceutical pipeline productivity. Pharnext is advised by La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild... [PDF] Ipsen's Press Release - PDF du communiqué de presse d'Ipsen -

Endotis Pharma : successful completion of phase I program with EP42675, a first in class synthetic parenteral anticoagulant

Paris (France), 19 May, 2009 - Two abstracts will be presented at the ISTH congress in July 2009 - Endotis Pharma, the biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of small-glyco drugs for applications in thrombosis and oncology, announced that EP42675 has successfully completed its Phase I program.
EP42675 is the first representative of a new class of synthetic, parenteral, antithrombotic drugs with a dual mechanism of action combining an indirect factor Xa inhibitor and a direct thrombin inhibitor in a single molecule. Thus, EP42675 inhibits both thrombin formation and activity.
EP42675 was well tolerated in 100 healthy subjects enrolled in five phase I, including single-dose and multiple ascending dose studies and a pharmacodynamic interaction study with a combination of oral aspirin and clopidogrel. The only drug-related adverse effects were minor episodes of bleedings (mostly at the injection or blood sampling site) explained by the anticoagulant activity of EP42675. Vital signs, physical examination, ECG (including the QTc interval) and safety laboratory parameters did not show any treatment-emergent clinically relevant abnormalities...

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About Endotis Pharma
Endotis Pharma is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of small-glyco drugs (heparin / heparan sulphate mimetics) for applications in thrombosis, oncology and a range of other indications. Its powerful discovery engine reduces risk by focusing on proven concepts, and by rationally designing drug candidates with the properties required for commercial success. The value of this platform is demonstrated by the breakthrough Endotis thrombosis franchise of oral and parenteral drugs in clinical and preclinical development, and a promising oncology pipeline. Endotis has 35 employees based in Paris and Lille (France)... [PDF] Endotis Pharma's Press Release - PDF du communiqué de presse d'Endotis Pharma -

CARMAT SAS : AN INNOVATIVE START-UP DEVELOPING AN ARTIFICIAL HEART

Paris, October 27, 2008 – CARMAT SAS is an innovative medtech start-up that has just been created and financed by TRUFFLE CAPITAL , EADS and the Fondation Alain Carpentier, with additional funding from the French state innovation agency OSEO . The company has been spun off of the collaboration between the renowned surgeon Professor Carpentier and EADS on implementation of biomaterials and cutting-edge technologies in the construction of an artificial heart. CARMAT intends to market a fully implantable artificial heart that will be able to provide renewed hope and quality of life to the hundreds of thousands of patients suffering in the aftermath of a massive heart attack or with late-stage heart failure and for whom standard drug therapy, ventricular assistance and/or a heart transplant have failed or are not possible... Carmat's Press Release - communiqué de presse de Carmat -

Theraclion : €8.5 million in R&D funding from OSEO

Paris, February 10, 2009 - Theraclion, the only medtech company in the world developing an innovative technology for the treatment of hyperparathyroidism1, announced that it has been granted €8.5 million in R&D funding by OSEO (the French state innovation agency) as part of the TUCE strategic industrial innovation project on elastography-guided ultrasound therapy. The ultrasound company SuperSonic Imagine will also participate in the Theraclion-driven project. The €8.5 million in funding comes as a direct, €3.5 million grant and €5 million in reimbursable advances. In all, €6.9 million of the total amount will be attributed to Theraclion, with €1.6 million going to SuperSonic Imagine. After €500,000 in 2005 and €1.3 million in 2007, this is the third time that OSEO has provided Theraclion with financial support...

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About Theraclion
The Paris-based medtech specialist Theraclion was spun out from Edap-Technomed in 2004. By leveraging its proprietary "Ultrasound Non-Invasive Surgery" ("UNIS" method), Theraclion develops, produces and commercializes devices for non-invasive, outpatient treatment of primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism. The technology uses diagnostic ultrasound to identify the target and then high-intensity ultrasound to coagulate the tissue - thus enabling patients to avoid burdensome drug treatment and the risks of surgery. Primary hyperparathyroidism has a potential market of over €300 million and secondary hyperparathyroidism corresponds to a potential of 1.5 million easily accessible patients on dialysis. As of today, Theraclion raised €5.1 million from Truffle Capital, one of its founding investor. Theraclion is primarily responding to the needs of clinics and hospitals in Europe, the United States and Asia. The company has initiated procedures for gaining market approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The United States alone represents half of the global market... [PDF] Theraclion's Press Release - PDF du communiqué de presse de Theraclion -

Pharmaleads’ PL37 lead candidate for pain enters Phase I

Paris, October 1st, 2008 - Pharmaleads has obtained from the French Medicine Agency (AFSSAPS) the authorization to perform a single ascending dose Phase I study with PL37, its lead compound for oral treatment of neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain is a major chronic pain condition, with an estimated prevalence in the world’s population of up to 6%, according to the most recent surveys, with many causes such as shingles, herpes, diabetes, antiviral or antitumor chemotherapy surgery, or low back disorders. Neuropathic pain does not respond well to usual painkillers. Worldwide market for neuropathic pain is estimated to reach 5 billion USD by 2010.
This compound originates from the work of Pharmaleads’ chief scientists, Professors Bernard P. Roques and Marie-Claude Fournié-Zaluski, and is a dual inhibitor of both enzymes responsible for the rapid degradation of enkephalins, the endogenous opiates. It therefore elicits an analgesic effect wherever enkephalins are produced as a response to a painful stimulus, and maintains a high level of these natural analgesic substances by preventing their rapid degradation...

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About Pharmaleads:

Pharmaleads is a pharmaceutical company focusing on research and early development of small molecules. Headquartered in Paris, France, Pharmaleads was founded in 2001 by Professors Bernard P. Roques, pharmacist and PhD in chemistry, Member of the French Academy of Sciences, and Marie-Claude Fournié-Zaluski, PhD in chemistry, both of them inventors of drugs (2 on the market). They were joined in 2004 by Thierry Bourbié, alumnus from Polytechnique and Mines, PhD from Stanford, former Deputy General Manager, Suez Group and Jean-Pierre Rogala, PhD from Agro, MBA from MIT (IBM, Suez Group). They were able to bring in their first rank international business expertise to fully unleash the world-class capabilities of the company in pharmacology and medicinal chemistry. In 2006, Michel Wurm, M.D. joined and added his extensive experience in drug and business development... Pharmaleads' Press Release -