TopoTarget A/S Symbion Fruebjergvej 3 DK 2100 Copenhagen Denmark Tel: +45 39 17 83 92 Fax: +45 39 17 94 92 CVR-nr: 25695771 www.topotarget.com TopoTarget and Lundbeck sign agreement for siramesine - a new and promising mechanism in cancer therapy Copenhagen, Denmark - 4 October 2007 - TopoTarget and Lundbeck today announced an agreement for the development of siramesine for the treatment of cancer. Siramesine has shown strong results in preclinical studies carried out by the Danish Cancer Society. The studies showed that siramesine kills cancer cells via a new and promising mechanism. Siramesine was originally developed by Lundbeck for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), and TopoTarget now intends to initiate studies with the compound in cancer therapy. “With this agreement we obtain the rights to develop siramesine for the treatment of cancer. Lundbeck has completed fundamental development activities by bringing the compound through Phase I studies. We now wish to investigate siramesine in our discovery models to look into its Phase II development potential,” said Peter Buhl Jensen, CEO of TopoTarget. “Siramesine complements TopoTarget's existing pipeline as the compound provides a new mechanism of action and is facing Phase II development, an area where TopoTarget has considerable development competences,” added Peter Buhl Jensen. Applying its special expertise and in-house discovery models, TopoTarget seeks to identify the best Phase II development opportunities for the benefit of cancer patients. The successful completion of Phase II may lead to yet another partner entering the collaboration with a view to further clinical and commercial development. Any future income will be evenly divided between TopoTarget and Lundbeck. Siramesine binds to a special sub-type of sigma receptor (σ 2). Siramesine has previously been investigated in Phase I and Phase IIa studies as a CNS-active compound for the treatment of anxiety, demonstrating a favourable tolerability profile. Novel studies conducted under the supervision of professor Marja Jäättelä of the Danish Cancer Society showed that siramesine induces caspase-independent apoptosis (cell killing) in cancer cells and is effective in pre-clinical cancer models, both as monotherapy and in combination with currently marketed anti-cancer drugs. The siramesine agreement does not change TopoTarget's full-year financial guidance for 2007. TopoTarget A/S For further information, please contact: Dr. Peter Buhl Jensen Telephone +45 39 17 83 41 Chief Executive Officer Mobile +45 21 60 89 22 Tim Corcoran Telephone +44 1235 443 713 Chief Operating Officer Mobile +44 787 656 1027 Ulla Hald Buhl Mobile +45 21 70 10 49 Director of IR and Communications Background information About TopoTarget TopoTarget (OMX: TOPO) is a biotech company, headquartered in Denmark and with subsidiaries in US, Switzerland, Germany and the UK, dedicated to finding ''Answers for cancer'' and developing improved cancer therapies. TopoTarget is founded and run by clinical cancer specialists and combines years of hands-on clinical experience with in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer. Focus lies on highly predictive cancer models and key cancer targets (including HDACi, NAD+, mTOR, FASligand and topoisomerase II inhibitors) and a strong development foundation has been built. TopoTarget has a broad portfolio of small molecule pre-clinical drug candidates and eight drugs (both small molecules and protein based) are in clinical development, including both novel anti-cancer therapeutics and new cancer indications for existing drugs. Savene™/Totect™ was approved by EMEA in 2006 and the FDA in 2007 and is TopoTarget's first product on the market. For more information, please refer to www.topotarget.com. TopoTarget Safe Harbour Statement This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including statements about our expectations of the progression of our preclinical and clinical pipeline including the timing for commencement and completion of clinical trials and with respect to cash burn guidance. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. TopoTarget cautions investors that there can be no assurance that actual results or business conditions will not differ materially from those projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the following: The risk that any one or more of the drug development programs of TopoTarget will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons or due to patient enrolment issues or based on new information from non-clinical or clinical studies or from other sources; the success of competing products and technologies; technological uncertainty and product development risks; uncertainty of additional funding; TopoTarget's history of incurring losses and the uncertainty of achieving profitability; TopoTarget's stage of development as a biopharmaceutical company; government regulation; patent infringement claims against TopoTarget's products, processes and technologies; the ability to protect TopoTarget's patents and proprietary rights; uncertainties relating to commercialization rights; and product liability expo-sure; We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by law.
TopoTarget and Lundbeck sign agreement for siramesine - a new and promising mechanism in cancer therapy
| Source: Topotarget