| [December 18, 2012] |
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Oncodesign And the Laboratory for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy at The KU Leuven Enter into a Research Collaboration for Advancing Drug Discovery Efforts with Ipsen in Parkinson's Disease
DIJON, France & LEUVEN, Belgium & PARIS --(Business Wire)--
Regulatory News:
Oncodesign, a Drug Discovery company and oncology pharmacology
service provider, and the Laboratory for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy
(LNGT) at the Department of Neurosciences at the KU Leuven, an expert
academic group exploring the roles of LRRK2 and a-synuclein in
Parkinson's disease headed by Professor Veerle Baekelandt, today
announced that they have entered into a research collaboration to
evaluate, with Ipsen (Euronext: IPN, ADR: IPSEY) (Paris:IPN), Oncodesign's
compounds in multiple pharmacology models for Parkinson's disease. The
collaboration builds on Oncodesign's LRRK2 program with advanced
Nanocyclix® lead molecules that was partnered with Ipsen in
January 2012.
"Our partnership with Ipsen on the discovery of novel therapeutic
agents in Parkinson's disease has advanced to a stage where we can use
further in depth expertise and advanced pharmacology models to position
our leads. We are very excited to collaborate with KU Leuven to advance
our understanding of both our inhibitors and the LRRK2 target", said Jan
Hoflack, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Oncodesign's
Discovery Activities.
"This collaboration with Oncodesign is a perfect example of
translational research in action", said Veerle Baekelandt, Ph.D.,
Principle Investigator of LNGT. "Parkinson's disease has been the
focus of our research for more than 10 years now. We are very pleased
that Oncodesign has selected our lab as a partner for advancing their
kinase program", she added.
"We are thrilled that the expertise that our lab has built up from
fundamental research on LRRK2 can be put to good use in evaluating and
developing the biology aspects of compounds with therapeutic potential",
said Jean-Marc Taymans, Ph.D., Group Leader of LNGT.
"Ipsen and Oncodesign entered into a research collaboration last
January for the development of new therapeutic agents against LRKK2
involved in Parkinson's disease, in line with our focus in neurology and
movement disorders. We are delighted that our partnership with
Oncodesign is moving forward as planned with the objective of developing
therapeutics for Parkinson's disease patients. The Oncodesign
collaboration with LNGT will greatly accelerate the progress of this
research program" stated Dr. Claude Bertrand, Executive Vice
president, R&D, Chief Scientific Officer at Ipsen.
Under the terms of the agreement, Oncodesign and LNGT will
closely collaborate to advance Oncodesign's Parkinson's disease
program towards clinical development. LNGT will receive full financial
support from Oncodesign for these activities.
About Oncodesign
Founded in 1995 and headed by Dr. Philippe Genne, Oncodesign is a
pioneer in the preclinical assessment of anti-cancer therapies, a market
that it is leading for many years. Oncodesign's mission consists
of discovering effective anti-cancer therapies. Its scientific expertise
in pharmacology, imaging and medicinal chemistry, in addition to strong
project management skills, support the company's two strategic
activities of experimentation and discovery, conducted in partnership
wit pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
The experimentation activity is organized in three technological
platforms: PREDICT® specializes in conventional in vitro
and in vivo pharmacology; Chi-Mice® focuses on the
development of in vivo chimeric humanized models; Pharmimage®
is dedicated to multimodal, non-invasive pharmaco-imaging. On the basis
of these three platforms, Oncodesign markets a broad range of
products and services (fee-for-service) for the assessment, validation,
targeting and diagnostic linking of anticancer therapies. Since 2010,
Oncodesign has incorporated a medicinal chemistry technology into
its discovery activity: Nanocyclix®, which is dedicated to
the synthesis of highly potent and selective novel kinase inhibitors.
The combination of these four technological platforms results in a
unique and innovative translational research approach in a risk-sharing
approach between partners.
For more information, see: www.oncodesign.com
About KU Leuven and LNGT
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), founded in 1425, is the
largest university in Belgium, located in Leuven (Flanders), with a
wealth of excellent research and a strong reputation and track-record in
technology transfer through KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD). More
than 6,000 researchers from more than 120 countries concentrate on
curiosity-driven and ground-breaking strategic research, as well as
targeted and demand-driven research.
The LNGT focuses on Parkinson's disease research, disease modeling and
therapy for Parkinson's disease using viral vectors in cell culture and
in vivo. Core technologies of the group consist of viral vector
technology, stereotactic neurosurgery and molecular imaging in
pre-clinical models.
For more information, see: http://www.kuleuven.be/molmed/research/research_neurodenerative_disease.html
About Ipsen
Ipsen is a global specialty-driven pharmaceutical company with total
sales exceeding €1.1 billion in 2011. Ipsen's ambition is to become a
leader in specialty healthcare solutions for targeted debilitating
diseases. Its development strategy is supported by four franchises:
neurology / Dysport®, endocrinology / Somatuline®,
uro-oncology / Decapeptyl® and hemophilia. Moreover, the
Group has an active policy of partnerships. Ipsen's R&D is focused on
its innovative and differentiated technological platforms, peptides and
toxins. In 2011, R&D expenditure totaled more than €250 million, above
21% of Group sales. The Group has total worldwide staff of close to
4,500 employees. Ipsen's shares are traded on segment A of Euronext
Paris (stock code: IPN, ISIN code: FR0010259150) and eligible to the
"Service de Règlement Différé" ("SRD"). The Group is part of the SBF 120
index. Ipsen has implemented a Sponsored Level I American Depositary
Receipt (ADR) program, which trade on the over-the-counter market in the
United States under the symbol IPSEY. For more information on Ipsen,
visit www.ipsen.com.
Ipsen's Forward Looking Statement
The forward-looking statements, objectives and targets contained herein
are based on the Group's management strategy, current views and
assumptions. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or events to
differ materially from those anticipated herein. All of the above risks
could affect the Group's future ability to achieve its financial
targets, which were set assuming reasonable macroeconomic conditions
based on the information available today. Moreover, the targets
described in this document were prepared without taking into account
external growth assumptions and potential future acquisitions, which may
alter these parameters. These objectives are based on data and
assumptions regarded as reasonable by the Group. These targets depend on
conditions or facts likely to happen in the future, and not exclusively
on historical data. Actual results may depart significantly from these
targets given the occurrence of certain risks and uncertainties, notably
the fact that a promising product in early development phase or clinical
trial may end up never being launched on the 3/3market or reaching its
commercial targets, notably for regulatory or competition reasons. The
Group must face or might face competition from Generics that might
translate into loss of market shares. Furthermore, the Research and
Development process involves several stages each of which involve the
substantial risk that the Group may fail to achieve its objectives and
be forced to abandon its efforts with regards to a product in which it
has invested significant sums. Therefore, the Group cannot be certain
that favorable results obtained during pre-clinical trials will be
confirmed subsequently during clinical trials, or that the results of
clinical trials will be sufficient to demonstrate the safe and effective
nature of the product concerned. The Group also depends on third parties
to develop and market some of its products which could potentially
generate substantial royalties; these partners could behave in such ways
which could cause damage to the Group's activities and financial
results. The Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
update or revise any forward looking statements, targets or estimates
contained in this press release to reflect any change in events,
conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statements
are based, unless so required by applicable law. The Group's business is
subject to the risk factors outlined in its registration documents filed
with the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers.

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