Lilly Teams With Xenova Group to Develop Novel Antithrombotic Drugs For Chronic Use
PR Newswire - February 18, 1998 02:30
LLY XNVAY XEN. %MTC %PDT V%PRN P%PRN
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Jump to first matched term SLOUGH, U.K. and INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and
Company ("Lilly") of Indianapolis, Indiana (NYSE: LLY), Xenova Group plc
("Xenova Group") (London Stock Exchange: XEN; Nasdaq: XNVAY) of the United
Kingdom and MetaXen LLC ("MetaXen") of Hayward, California , a majority owned
subsidiary of Xenova Group, today announced the formation of a strategic
research and development partnership. The subject of the agreement is the
development of a new class of antithrombotic (blood clot inhibiting) drugs
suitable for chronic use. Research will focus on developing small molecule
inhibitors of PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor) that are designed to
enhance the break-up of blood clots without the bleeding side-effects of other
marketed antithrombotic drugs.
Under the agreement, Xenova Group and MetaXen will receive up to
$35 million in licence fees, research funding, and milestones over a drug
development cycle based on the achievement of specific objectives. In
addition, Xenova Group and MetaXen will receive royalties on commercialised
products emerging from the collaboration. In exchange, Lilly receives
exclusive worldwide rights to PAI-1 inhibitors and related technology for use
in the field of cardiovascular medicine. The agreement contemplates a
collaborative research and development effort whose preclincal component will
be principally carried out at MetaXen. Lilly will take the lead in clinical
development and regulatory approval of any drug candidates and will
subsequently commercialise products emerging from the partnership.
"We are very pleased to collaborate with the research teams at MetaXen and
Xenova Group, whose deep expertise in the biology of PAI-1 and drug discovery
capabilities complement our cardiovascular research objectives," said Michael
D. Clayman, M.D., Lilly Vice President, Cardiovascular Research & Medical.
"PAI-1 inhibitors have the potential to make a positive impact in the very
large market for antithrombotic drugs, where products suitable for chronic use
without the bleeding complications or costly monitoring requirements of
current therapies are greatly needed. Such products would fit well into our
current cardiovascular portfolio."
"This project had its starting point from a group of compounds identified
by our NatChem(TM) library system. Xenova's natural products library systems
and its drug screening capabilities were both critical in identifying these
compounds," said Louis J. Nisbet, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Xenova
Group. "We are delighted with this realisation of our strategy of finding a
partner for our PAI programme and expect the agreement to have a significant
positive impact on Xenova Group's cash flow during 1998. Xenova Group has
forged a leadership position in PAI-1 biology and in the medicinal chemistry
and pharmacology of small molecule inhibitors of PAI-1."
"Lilly has an outstanding and aggressive track record in the development
and marketing of pharmaceuticals, and their strong cardiovascular drug
development effort includes an impressive array of products in advanced
development," said Michael J. Ross, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive
Officer of MetaXen. "Lilly is also known as an excellent corporate partner
for emerging biotechnology companies, and we are delighted to collaborate with
it on this project. To gain recognition from a partner of Lilly's quality
early in our corporate life reflects well on the strength of our science and
approach to drug discovery and optimisation. The PAI-1 project could bring an
entirely new approach to thrombosis therapy."
Technical Background: Patients who suffer heart attacks or undergo major
surgical procedures often remain at risk for many months of developing
potentially life-threatening blood clots. Current treatments to prevent such
clots, such as heparin, coumadin or warfarin can cause serious bleeding
disorders that require hospitalisation. As a result, correct dosing of these
drugs remains difficult and often requires costly patient monitoring to avoid
serious adverse events. In contrast, PAI-1 is a protein secreted at sites of
disease by the walls of red blood cells and platelet-forming cells that acts
to quench tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) activity after that enzyme has
broken down a blood clot. Research has shown that when PAI-1 activity is
inhibited or missing, tPA activity is gently up-regulated and the body's
tendency to form blood clots is reduced, but without a corresponding increase
in spontaneous or delayed bleeding. PAI-1 inhibitors may therefore offer
potential as new clot prevention therapies that are suitable for chronic use
and lack the bleeding risks and associated costs of current antithrombotic
agents.
Natural product screening and medicinal chemistry efforts at Xenova
initially identified a range of small molecules that inhibited the ability of
PAI-1 to bind tPA, as well as related in vivo and in vitro assays of anti-PAI-
1 activity. Xenova and MetaXen then developed a pharmacological model of PAI-1
inhibition and employed combinatorial and medicinal chemistry methods and
high-throughput screening systems to identify and optimise small molecule drug
leads.
Eli Lilly and Company is a global research-based pharmaceutical
corporation headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana that is dedicated to
creating and delivering innovative pharmaceutical-based health care solutions
that enable people to live longer, healthier and more active lives.
Xenova Group plc is an emerging pharmaceutical group specializing in the
discovery and development of new small molecule drugs originally derived from
naturally occurring micro-organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, and from
plant extracts. Xenova has developed an integrated group of proprietary
platform technologies to identify rapidly and efficiently candidate compounds,
or leads, for new drugs from such natural sources. The company currently has
collaborative agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Genzyme
Molecular Oncology, Suntory, Warner-Lambert and Zeneca. Xenova also operates
a joint-venture High Throughput Screening services company, Advant, in
collaboration with EG&G Wallac. Xenova recently announced a plant chemistry
alliance with IGER.
MetaXen, located in Hayward, California aims to efficiently transform
pharmaceutical leads into valuable drug candidates through an
interdisciplinary approach to drug optimization. The company expects to
advance candidates to the clinic faster and at lower cost than is currently
achievable through traditional optimization strategies. MetaXen is a majority
owned subsidiary of Xenova Group plc, and operates in the U.S. as a limited
liability company.
Safe Harbor Statement under the US Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: Some or all of the statements in this document that relate to
future plans, expectations, events, performances and the like are forward-
looking statements, as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Actual results of events could differ materially from those
described in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors,
including those set forth in the Company's filings with the US Securities and
Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Xenova Group plc
-0- 02/18/98
/CONTACT: UK: On Feb. 18: Dr. Louis Nisbet, Chief Executive Officer,
+44-0-171-457-2345, or Subsequently: Hilary Reid Evans, Head of Corporate
Communications, +44-0-1753-706-622, both for Xenova Group; or David Yates of
Gavin Anderson & Company, +44/
/Web site: noonanrusso.com
(LLY XNVAY XEN.)
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