XERION PHARMACEUTICALS ENTERS INTO OPTION AGREEMENT FOR CANCER TARGETS FROM TUFTS UNIVERSITY
-- Agreement advances company’s program to build therapeutic antibody pipeline --
Martinsried, Germany and Cambridge, MA, February 26, 2003 – Xerion Pharmaceuticals
announced today that it has acquired exclusive rights to cancer targets resulting from the
collaboration between Xerion and the laboratory of Daniel G. Jay, Ph.D., Professor of
Physiology at Tufts University. Xerion plans to generate therapeutic antibodies against these
targets. This agreement is a result of an ongoing collaboration between Xerion and Tufts.
“Xerion integrates the ability to assess the function of proteins with the capability to rapidly
generate antibody leads,” commented Markus Ewert, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive
Officer of Xerion Pharmaceuticals. “This collaboration provides us with the opportunity to
broaden our discovery pipeline.”
The potential of these cancer targets have been evaluated using Xerion’s Xstream™
approach. This approach combines the use of antibodies and other proprietary technologies to
rapidly disrupt the function of a specific protein in diseased cells, thereby allowing the
company to evaluate the protein’s potential as a therapeutic target.
Xerion Pharmaceuticals is building a pipeline of novel therapeutic targets and antibodies. To identify
targets, the company uniquely focuses on proteins, using proprietary technologies to selectively block
their function in diseased cells thereby mimicking the activity of a drug. Xerion integrates this approach
with the ability to rapidly generate antibody leads. The company is developing these targets
independently and in conjunction with partners with an initial emphasis on cancer and cardiovascular
disease.
For additional information, please visit Xerion’s Web site at
www.xerion-pharma.com.
Xerion is headquartered in Martinsried, Germany, and its subsidiary Xerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is
based in Cambridge, MA, USA. The Company has license and collaborative agreements with Altana
Pharma AG, Arius Research Inc., Cambridge Antibody Technology Ltd., Procorde GmbH, and several
research institutes.
For further information please contact:
Tobias Lehmacher
Xerion Pharmaceuticals AG
Fraunhoferstrasse 9
D-82152 Martinsried (Munich) Germany
Tel: +49 89 86 307-131
Fax: +49 89 86 307-111
E-mail: t.lehmacher@xerion-pharma.com
Yukari Perrella
Xerion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
One Broadway, Suite 600
Cambridge, MA 02142
Tel: +1 617 621-7123
Fax: +1 617 621-7124
E-mail: y.perrella@xerion-pharma.com
