Source: Elitra Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Contact: Gregory J. Tibbitts
Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (858) 410-3030
Fax: (858) 410-7011
Internet: www.elitra.com
E-mail: gtibbitts@elitra.com
Source: Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Contact: Masao Ishida
Director & General Manager
Global Business Development
Phone: (81) 3-35977-5046
Fax: (81) 3-5977-5133
Internet: www.kaken.co.jp
E-mail: masao-ishida@kaken.co.jp
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAKEN PHARMACEUTICAL CO. AND ELITRA PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCE
ANTIFUNGAL DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATION
Tokyo, Japan and San Diego, California, USA February 19, 2003 -- Kaken
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Elitra Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today a multi-year
research collaboration under which the two companies will collaborate on the discovery and
development of novel anti-fungal drugs. Elitra will conduct high throughput screening against
an unspecified number of proprietary drug targets, and will have responsibility for certain pre-
clinical development efforts. Kaken will also contribute to the pre-clinical development
responsibilities and both companies with coordinate worldwide clinical development efforts.
Elitra retains exclusive marketing rights in North America and certain other territories, and
Kaken retains exclusive marketing rights in Japan, the Far East and Europe. Kaken will
make an upfront technology access payment and fund dedicated research efforts at Elitra,
including making milestone payments based on pre-clinical and clinical progress. Specific
financial terms were not disclosed.
The anti-fungal market is an important therapeutic area with estimated sales in excess of
$4.6 billion in 2001. Despite the availability of several antifungal drugs, systemic fungal
infections remain fatal in more than 30% of patients. Attempts to develop new anti-fungal
drugs have been frustrated by the lack of knowledge about and capability to exploit new
fungal drug targets. Through the use of its proprietary functional genomics capabilities, Elitra
has identified and prioritized the majority of essential gene drug targets in Candida albicans
and Aspergillus fumigatus, the two most important human fungal pathogens. Elitra identifies
new drug leads through the use of highly sensitized cell-based assays combined with
proprietary high throughput screening technologies.
Kaken has expertise and know-how in developing and marketing anti-fungals. Based on over
50 years of experience, the company has established important anti-fungal in vitro and in
vivo evaluation methods. Butenafine HCl, a topical anti-fungal originated by Kaken, is
marketed on the Japanese market as Mentax
R
. The drug is also approved in the US, Canada
and several Asian countries, and its EU marketing authorization was granted in October
2002.
“We are very pleased to collaborate with Elitra. Elitra’s drug discovery technologies and
Kaken’s development expertise are quite complementary. I believe that this collaboration will
lead to the discovery of the next generation of anti-fungal drugs,” said Hidefumi Kurosawa,
Executive Managing Director of Research & Development at Kaken.
“We are very pleased to be partnering with Kaken in our first anti-fungal research partnership,
with their demonstrated expertise in anti-fungal drug development,” said J. Gordon Foulkes,
Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Elitra. “This alliance allows us to
leverage our extensive knowledge of over 1,000 novel anti-fungal drug targets, and access
Kaken’s significant drug development capabilities, while retaining the ability to exclusively
market the products in the United States.”
Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (
www.kaken.co.jp
) traces back to the Institute of Physical &
Chemical Research (Riken) which was established in 1917. The company entered the
pharmaceutical business with penicillin and streptomycin, which were manufactured using
Riken technology. Kaken has since broadened its scope of activities through merger and
alliance and has a presence in internal medicine, orthopedics and dermatology. Kaken has
advanced its market presence by providing new drugs discovered with its own technology
and through partnership and in-licensing. Kaken’s in-licensing efforts include Trafermin
(Fiblast
R
Spray), a recombinant form of human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which
was licensed from Scios and launched in Japan in June 2001 as the world-first product of
human bFGF.
Elitra Pharmaceuticals Inc. (
www.elitra.com
) is a leader in antimicrobial drug discovery and
focuses on the identification, development and commercialization of novel antimicrobial
compounds that target essential gene products of pathogenic organisms. Elitra has ongoing
research collaborations with Merck & Co., LG Life Sciences, bioLeads and deCODE genetics
to discover new antimicrobials. Elitra has identified more than 6,000 essential genes in
eleven bacterial and fungal pathogens and is discovering new classes of compounds utilizing
its internal high throughput screening capabilities.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press
release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Elitra
disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
