Aureus Pharma licenses AurSCOPE ADME/DDI and hERG Knowledge Databases to Siena Biotech S.p.A.

Paris, FRANCE, June 7, 2006 and Siena, ITALY, June 7, 2006 - Aureus Pharma a leading provider of knowledge management solutions to accelerate discovery in the life sciences industry, announces that Siena Biotech, an innovation-driven, Italian Drug Discovery company has licensed both AurSCOPE ADME/Drug-Drug Interaction and hERG knowledge databases for its internal research work. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Better understanding of the ADME-Tox properties of potential drug candidates is an integral part of the pharmaceutical industry?s current strategy to reduce the attrition rate in bringing new drugs to the market. Aureus? ADME/DDI and hERG knowledge databases contain detailed data including metabolism, inhibition, drug-drug interactions and pharmacokinetics which can help assess the safety of a potential pharmaceutical candidate.

"Aureus Pharma´s knowledge databases on ADME and hERG provide Siena Biotech researchers access to important data to assess ADME properties early in the drug discovery process and complement our in-house knowledge-based drug design platform," commented Siena Biotech´s Dr. Graeme M. Robertson, Vice President Therapeutic Research. "We are very pleased that Siena Biotech has chosen Aureus Pharma´s solutions," said Dr. André Michel, CEO of Aureus Pharma. "Having access to the data in our ADME & hERG knowledge databases allows scientists to save valuable research time by using this prior knowledge and improve prioritization in drug discovery process."

About Siena Biotech

Siena Biotech S.p.A ( www.sienabiotech.com ) is an innovative drug discovery company located in Siena, Italy. The company´s focus is on diseases of the central nervous system including rare diseases and cancer with the aim of pursuing validated drug targets and lead molecules for therapeutic intervention. In order to support the drug discovery process from exploratory target identification towards clinical studies, the company applies the most advanced technologies in the field. Siena Biotech is an instrumental company for Scientific and Biotechnological Research controlled by the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation.

About Aureus Pharma

Aureus Pharma headquartered in Paris, France is a privately held knowledge management based solutions provider for the life sciences industry. Aureus Pharma accelerates new drug discovery by providing knowledge databases which contain high quality quantitative information for both chemistry and biology. Researchers gain rapid access to knowledge for important drug target classes including GPCR, Ion Channel, Kinase as well as other critical pharmaceutical topics including ADME/Drug-Drug Interactions and the hERG Channel. The information contained in the Aureus Pharma system is of primary importance to aid in lead discovery and optimization as well as to build predictive models. For further information on how Aureus Pharma helps researchers turn data into discovery visit www.aureus-pharma.com

Media Contacts:

For Aureus Pharma
Mary E. Donlan, Ph.D
Director of Marketing & Sales
+33 1 40 18 57 59/+33 6 76 19 51 77
mary.donlan@aureus-pharma.com

For Siena Biotech S.p.A.

Gianluca Breghi
V.P. Finance & Business Development
+39 0577 381 219
aa@chemaxon.com