AEterna Zentaris Strengthens its Position in the Development of Innovative Signal Transduction Inhibitors as a Potential Way to
January 06 2005 - 7:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
AEterna Zentaris Strengthens its Position in the Development of
Innovative Signal Transduction Inhibitors as a Potential Way to
Treat Cancer - Acquisition of Echelon Biosciences in the United
States QUEBEC CITY, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AEterna
Zentaris Inc. (TSX: AEZ; Nasdaq: AEZS) today announced the closing
of the acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of Echelon
Biosciences Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company based
in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The amount of the transaction could
reach up to US$5.6 million. At today's closing, AEterna Zentaris
paid US$2.7 million by the issuance of 443,905 common shares of
AEterna Zentaris at US$6.11 per share. The residual amount will be
payable upon reaching pre-defined development and commercial
milestones through the issuance of additional AEterna Zentaris
common shares over a period of up to three years. Echelon's product
pipeline is focused on the rapidly emerging field of transduction
signalling technology. It has early therapeutic leads (mostly
direct PI3K inhibitors) against some forms of cancer and is in a
position to deliver new highly-effective oncology therapeutics. The
focus is also on small molecule agonists and antagonists to
lipid-protein signalling interactions which are new and important
therapeutic targets. Furthermore, Echelon markets chemical
reagents, and sales reached nearly US$2.2 million during the last
twelve months. "First and foremost, this acquisition provides us
with a complementary strategic fit for our signal transduction
inhibitors platform, mainly represented by perifosine, our lead
compound in oncology", said Gilles Gagnon, President and CEO of
AEterna Zentaris. "It also marks our entry into the United States,
a crucial market for our growth strategy. Last but not least, we
are very happy to acquire a company whose management has succeeded
in developing compounds while using a business model which enabled
them to minimize their burn rate through the creation of a
customized reagents business involving several major accounts", he
added. W. Tim Miller, President of Echelon Biosciences mentioned,
"AEterna Zentaris is an exciting growth company with a rich
pipeline of clinical and preclinical drug programs, an experienced
and successful development infrastructure, impressive and
established relationships with pharmaceutical partners, and where
excellent scientific synergy exists with Echelon's early stage drug
development projects. We are proud to be part of AEterna Zentaris'
family and we look forward to help bring added value to the Company
through this exciting development and commercialization
partnership." In line with the strategic development of compounds
that can block the PI3K-AKT pathways, AEterna Zentaris announced
that it has initiated preclinical development of
Erucylphosphocholine or ErPC (ZEN 027) an analog of perifosine
which is suitable for intravenous administration. AEterna Zentaris
has also licensed to Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, its current North
American partner for perifosine, certain rights to develop and
market ErPC in North America, South Africa, Israel, Australia and
New Zealand while keeping those rights for the rest of the world.
Like perifosine, ErPC belongs to a new class of compounds based on
alkylphosphocholines developed in Germany by AEterna Zentaris. "We
have been excited about the potential of signal transduction
inhibitors in oncology for a long time. The acquisition of Echelon
as well as the expansion of our successful collaboration with Keryx
Biopharmaceuticals will allow AEterna Zentaris to further manifest
its leading position in this field", stated Dr. Jurgen Engel,
Executive Vice President, R&D and COO of AEterna Zentaris.
About Echelon Biosciences Inc. Echelon Biosciences Inc. is engaged
in furthering the science of lipid cell signalling and critical
metabolic enzymes, which provide new and viable targets for the
development of potential drugs and diagnostics for cancer,
diabetes, inflammation, infections, and cardiovascular disease. The
company was co-founded by University of Utah Professors Glenn
Prestwich and Dale Poulter, with G. Thomas Heath, former Pfizer
executive. Echelon was incorporated under the laws of the state of
Utah as Echelon Research Laboratories, Inc. on October 3, 1997.
Based in Salt Lake City, the Company has 30 employees. About
AEterna Zentaris Inc. AEterna Zentaris Inc. is an oncology and
endocrine therapy focused biopharmaceutical company with proven
expertise in drug discovery, development and commercialization. The
Company's broad, renewable product pipeline leverages five
different therapeutic approaches, including LHRH antagonists and
signal transduction inhibitors. The lead LHRH antagonist compound,
cetrorelix, is currently marketed for in vitro fertilization under
the brand name Cetrotide(R), and has successfully completed a broad
Phase II program in endometriosis and benign prostatic hyperplasia
(BPH). The lead signal transduction inhibitor compound, perifosine,
is an orally-active AKT inhibitor that is in several Phase II
trials for multiple cancers. AEterna Zentaris also owns 61.1% of
Atrium Biotechnologies Inc., an international company that
develops, manufactures and markets added-value active ingredients
and specialty chemicals for the cosmetics, chemical, pharmaceutical
and nutritional industries, as well as health and nutrition
products. News releases and additional information about AEterna
Zentaris are available on its new Web site
http://www.aeternazentaris.com/ . Forward-Looking Statements This
press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the
availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the
successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability
of the Company to take advantage of business opportunities in the
pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory
process and general changes in economic conditions. Investors
should consult the Company's quarterly and annual filings with the
Canadian and U.S. securities commissions for additional information
on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking
statements. Investors are cautioned not to rely on these
forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to
update these forward- looking statements. DATASOURCE: AETERNA
ZENTARIS INC. (FORMERLY/ANCIENNEMENT - LES LABORATOIRES AETERNA
CONTACT: Media Relations, Paul Burroughs, (418) 652-8525, ext. 406,
; Investor Relations, Jacques Raymond, (418) 652-8525, ext. 360, ;
Europe: Dr. Matthias Seeber, +49-6942602-3425, To request a free
copy of this organization's annual report, please go to
http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on reports@cnw.
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