Amylin Pharmaceuticals to Screen Chemical Library From Tripos and
Panlabs for Metabolic Drugs
=======================================================
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ --Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(NASDAQ:AMLN) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to
acquire access to and screen the 100,000 small molecule compounds contained in
the Optiverse chemical library co-owned by Tripos, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRPS; St.
Louis, MO) and MDS-Panlabs, Inc. (Bothell, WA). The Optiverse chemical
library is a set of diverse chemical structures that will be tested for
biological activity and potential oral delivery for the treatment of metabolic
disorders, including diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia. Amylin will screen
these compounds using its proprietary receptor binding assays and any binding
assays for metabolic disorders that Amylin may discover or obtain access to in
the future.
Under the terms of the agreement, Amylin will pay Tripos a one-time, up-
front fee. Amylin will have rights to any active compounds discovered in the
screening process and will control all future research, development, and
marketing activities for any drug candidate emerging from these efforts.
Amylin may engage or partner with third parties for development and/or
commercialization of compounds. Amylin has agreed to pay Tripos certain
milestones and royalties based on progress of candidates through development.
"We are the first company to enter into this type of risk-sharing
agreement with Tripos," said Maurizio Denaro, M.D., Executive Vice President
and Chief Technical Officer of Amylin Pharmaceuticals. "This model is very
attractive to us, as we have a fully integrated research and development
structure in place to evaluate active hit compounds emerging from screening,
and Tripos is helping us expedite the discovery process. We will retain
control over research, preclinical, clinical, and commercial development of
hit and lead compounds and will have rights to any compounds we discover
following the screening process. The agreement appealed to Tripos because
they recognize our capability for moving an early drug candidate quickly
through the development process, based on our expertise and accomplishments
with pramlintide. Increased access to discovery tools, such as the Optiverse
chemical library, are important to Amylin's continued success. We are
actively seeking new ways to enhance our already expanding pipeline of
potential drug candidates to treat metabolic disorders."
Panlabs, Inc., founded in 1970 and now a division of MDS Health Group,
Ltd. (TSE:MHG A/B) provides discovery services in the form of screening
assays, screening materials from chemical libraries, plants, and microbes with
robotic screening capacity of 100,000 compounds per week and pharmacological
profiling of lead compounds on a contractual basis.
Tripos, Inc., based in St. Louis, Missouri, delivers discovery informatics
products, chemical libraries, and services for new compound research in life
science applications worldwide.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is focused on developing novel medicines for
treating metabolic disorders. The Company has pioneered research of the
hormone amylin, which is believed to play an important role in glucose control
and is missing or deficient in millions of people with diabetes. The Company
is collaborating with Johnson & Johnson to develop pramlintide, a synthetic
analog of human amylin, with the aim of improving glucose control for people
with diabetes. Pramlintide is currently the subject of six, pivotal, Phase III
PARADIGM clinical studies aimed at demonstrating its ability to improve
glucose control when used as an adjunct to insulin therapy in people with
diabetes, thereby lowering their risk of degenerative complications.
Regulatory submissions for pramlintide are planned for late 1998 in North
America and Europe. The Company has expanded its development pipeline within
the field of metabolic disorders and has started several preclinical programs,
including validation of exendin and GLP-1 for diabetes and obesity, mono-di-
tert-butylphenols for dyslipidemia, and several new targets for obesity.
Founded in 1987, Amylin is headquartered in San Diego, California.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed
herein, due to, among other things, the research, development, and market
risks which could adversely affect the Company's timeline for clinical trials,
for regulatory approval, and if such approval is received, time to market
thereafter. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's
most recently filed SEC documents, such as its Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 1996 and its most recent Form 10-Q.
SOURCE Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
-0- 08/05/97
/CONTACT: Richard W. Krawiec, Ph.D., Director of Corporate
Communications, 619-552-2200, amylin.com
/Amylin Pharmaceuticals press releases are available through Company News
On-Call by fax, 800-758-5804, extension 100201, or at
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