Lectus Therapeutics wins ERBI's Innovation in Drug Discovery and Development Award

Prize indicative of Lectus’s corporate and scientific progress

Cambridge, UK, 15 May 2007: Lectus Therapeutics Ltd, the drug discovery and development company focusing on next-generation ion channel modulators, has won ERBI’s 2007 Innovation in Drug Discovery and Development Award. ERBI’s judging panel, made up of representatives from Europe’s largest biotech cluster based around Cambridge, selected Lectus to receive the award based on the significant achievements and progress made by the company.

In December last year, Lectus announced the first proof-of-concept data for one of its lead in-house programmes in preclinical models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain, both difficult and competitive areas. This data also represented a significant milestone for the company by marking a key step towards the transition between research and development. Lectus’s pipeline contains novel ion channel compounds identified though its proprietary technology, LEPTICS®, for the treatment of pain and urinary incontinence. Lectus’s compounds work through a unique mechanism of action and potentially overcome side effects seen with conventional ion channel therapeutics.

In April 2006, Lectus announced the aquisition of NeuroServe Ltd, an electrophysiology company that tested compounds for their ability to modulate ion channels. This enabled Lectus to increase the efficiency of its research, expand its intellectual property base and move its headquarters to the Babraham Research Campus, located near Cambridge.

To fund the growth of the business, Lectus closed a series A financing round of £8.2 million, in February 2006: the largest Eurpoean financing for an early-stage drug discovery company since 2004. In this round Lectus attracted two top tier venture investors: Sofinnova Partners and Quester as well as two Japanese corporate investors: Takeda Research Investment, Inc., the corporate venture arm of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and Astellas Venture Management (the venture capital arm of Astellas Pharma Inc.).

Roland Kozlowski, CEO of Lectus said: “We are delighted with this award, which further endorses our technology and business strategy. Cambridge is the largest centre for biotech in Europe, so to be recognised over all the other drug discovery and development companies in the region for our work over the last 12 months is fantastic.”

Jeff Solomon, Chief Executive of ERBI said: “Working in the field of ion channels is one of the most challenging areas of drug discovery. Lectus impressed the judges because they have successfuly raised finance and grown the business despite the tough commercial conditions which have forced others to down-size.”

On the back of this award, Lectus has been short-listed for UKTI’s 2007 Bio-Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Awards. The winners of the national competition will be announced at a ceremony to be held in London on 4 July. More information about the national awards event may be found at www.ukbio.org/awards/programg.php  .

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About Lectus Therapeutics and LEPTICS®

Lectus Therapeutics is a UK-based drug-discovery and development company focusing on novel drugs for pain management and urinary incontinence. Lectus’s vision is to become a world leader in developing next-generation ion-channel therapeutics that act indirectly on ion channels through accessory proteins. This approach will allow the identification of targeted drugs with fewer side effects: a problem which has plagued the discovery and development of ion channel drugs over the last decade. The company exploits its extensive knowledge of ion channels combined with the power of its proprietary functional proteomics platform, LEPTICS® (Leveraged Enabling Proteomics Technology for Ion-Channel Screening), to identify small molecules that target ion channel accessory proteins. The drugs identified by Lectus will offer important clinical advantages over existing therapies.

Ion channels are proteins that control the flow of ions, such as sodium, calcium and potassium, into and out of mammalian cells. They are integral to muscle movement, nerve impulse transmission and cardiovascular function. Historically, drugs targeting ion channels have been very successful and still generate well in excess of $12 billion in global sales per annum. In recent years however, efforts at identifying novel ion channel therapeutics have focused on targeting the pore forming domains of ion channels and despite billions of dollars spent in R&D, this approach has not yielded further significant clinical success. This is believed to be mainly because of the side effects associated with the lack of specificity of this approach. Lectus’ next-generation ion channel therapeutics, by selectively targeting ion channel accessory proteins, are anticipated to have a significantly enhanced safety profile with resultant therapeutic and economic benefits. Lectus’s preclinical ‘proof-of-concept’ data for its Kv channel compounds in models of hyperalgesia represent a significant milestone for the company: validation of the company’s clearly differentiated mechanistic approach for pharmacological modulation of ion channels. Lectus’s compounds represent a potential first-in-class therapeutic for the treatment of pain by modulating a previously unexploited ion channel target, through a novel mechanism of action.

For further information go to www.lectustherapeutics.com .

About ERBI

ERBI is the biotech industry and networking organisation for Cambridge and the East of England. With over 300 subscribing members, ERBI's objective is to help its members become more competitive globally through hosting a wide range of special interest groups, workshops, exhibitions and partnering events. www.erbi.co.uk

For further information please contact:

Lectus Therapeutics Limited Tel: +44 (0)1223 496182

Roland Kozlowski, CEO Fax: +44 (0)1223 496184

Northbank Communications Tel: +44 (0) 20 7268 3002

Gemma Price, Adam Michael, Holly Griffiths Email: lectus@northbankcommunications.com

ERBI Tel: +44 (0)1223 421977

Dr Jeff Solomon, CEO Email: jeffsolomon@erbi.co.uk