NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bioaccelerate, Inc. , a pharmaceutical development organisation has today announced that one of its portfolio companies, Enhance Biotech Inc (Pink Sheets:EBOI), a developer of a portfolio of products focused on lifestyle drugs, has signed a definitive merger agreement with Ardent Pharmaceuticals Inc., the world's leader in discovering and developing delta receptor compounds. Ardent Pharmaceuticals, based in North Carolina's Research Triangle, is a privately held biotechnology company with an extensive research and development pipeline that includes a number of pre-clinical and clinical candidates in the areas of moderate to severe pain, urinary incontinence, premature ejaculation, depression and cardio protection.
Under the terms of the agreement, Enhance shareholders will retain fifty-five percent of the stock in the merged entity, which will continue under the name of Enhance Biotech. Ardent shareholders will acquire forty five percent of the stock. Chris Every, Enhance Biotech's CEO, will continue as the CEO of the combined entity. Phillip Wise, Ardent Pharmaceuticals' Chief Financial Officer and VP Business Development, will assume of the role of CFO. Ken Chang, current Chairman and founder of Ardent will assume the post of Chief Science Officer and President Asia Pacific Operations. A new board of directors will be formed including members from the existing boards of the two companies plus a number of newly elected independent members. The Company's operational headquarters will be located in North Carolina with corporate offices in New York and London.
Chris Every commented, "This merger brings together two companies with large market potential and deep pipelines in synergistic therapeutic areas. Ardent is a recognised discovery and development company with expertise in chemistry, pharmacology and clinical development and has a substantial library of over 1,000 compounds. Their lead compounds are now either in or very close to entering clinical trials in potential blockbuster indications, which we believe will be extremely attractive to potential large pharmaceutical partners. This coupled with Enhance's late stage development portfolio of products focusing on sexual dysfunction and dermatology, gives the combined entity the opportunity to have a broad portfolio of products at market in a relatively short period of time."
Chris Every added, "The other extremely compelling aspect of this merger is the operational synergies that will be created and the pooling of the combined management resource. In addition to significantly broadening our product offering, Ardent deepens our infrastructure by providing state-of-the-art laboratory and technical trial facilities, a top science team and an expertise in U.S. FDA process to combine with our European experience."
About Bioaccelerate
Bioaccelerate Inc. ("Bioaccelerate" or the "Company") is a pharmaceutical development organization that acquires and develops pharmaceutical compounds that have substantial medical and commercial value. Bioaccelerate currently has majority equity interests in nine Biotech companies, two of which are public with the other seven expected to go public in the future. Bioaccelerate also holds minority equity interests in three Biotech companies, one of which is public. The Companies that Bioaccelerate currently has equity interests in focus on five vertical therapeutic areas; Cancer, Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Central Nervous System, and Anti-Infectives, these therapeutic areas have a current combined market value in excess of $200 billion. Bioaccelerate's strategy utilizes a development network to accelerate the development of multiple early-stage compounds to Phase II/III clinical development. The company believes this creates a lower risk business model as Bioaccelerate's network enables a timely and cost effective passage from the discovery process up to Phase II/III where substantial incremental value is created. Bioaccelerate's objective is to become a leading innovator, utilizing the latest technologies to cut down the cost and the amount of time that a drug spends in development. For more information on the company please see the company's website at www.bioaccelerate.com
About Enhance Biotech
Enhance Biotech Inc. is developing a product portfolio focused upon two key areas of lifestyle drug development; Male Sexual Dysfunction and clinical Skincare indications. Key conditions within the Sexual Dysfunction area include Premature Ejaculation and Male Fertility, while Skincare Indications include Periodontal Disease, Cellulite, Anti-aging and Dermatological Disorders such as Atopic Dermatitis to Psoriasis. Enhance's products are licensed in at pre-clinical or Phase I stages and are being taken through development and approval to market mainly through targeted licensing partnerships for each product, adding significant value to each in the process. This creates a valuable product portfolio in the lifestyle market; a market forecast at conservative estimates to grow to US$32 billion by 2008. The pharmaceutical industry has invested over $20 billion in R&D for lifestyle drugs over the last ten years, although relatively few new products have as yet reached the market. Enhance's lead development products fill unmet needs in these global blockbuster markets. The Management and Science Team have a proven track record of successful new product development and commercialization as well as intellectual property out-licensing. For more information on the company please see the company's website at www.enhancelifesciences.com.
About Ardent
Ardent is a world leader in the discovery and development of delta receptor compounds. As a private company they have developed a substantial knowledge of the chemistry and pharmacology of the delta receptor, including a library of approximately 1,000 compounds that demonstrate specific opiate receptor activity. From this expertise Ardent has discovered and is developing compounds in moderate- to-severe pain, urinary incontinence, premature ejaculation, depression and cardioprotection. Development stage for these products ranges from pre-clinical target compound selection through to Phase II. Ardent has fifteen employees and an extensive research facility based in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park along with experienced clinical development and commercial management. For more information on the company please see the company's website at www.ardentpharma.com.
Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because these statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Specifically, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks associated with preclinical and clinical developments in the biopharmaceutical industry in general and in Enhance Biotech's compounds under development in particular; the potential failure of Enhance Biotech's compounds under development to prove safe and effective for treatment of disease; uncertainties inherent in the early stage of Enhance Biotech' compounds under development; failure to successfully implement or complete clinical trials; failure to receive marketing clearance from regulatory agencies for our compounds under development; acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, licenses or strategic initiatives that change Enhance Biotech' business, structure or projections; the development of competing products; uncertainties related to Enhance Biotech' dependence on third parties and partners; and those risks described in the filings with the SEC, all of which are under the Company's prior name Becor Communications, Inc. The Company and Enhance Biotech disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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