Tuesday December 12, 1:00 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Serono S.A.
Serono and Vertex Establish Collaboration to Develop
and Market Caspase Inhibitors for the Treatment of
Neurological and Inflammatory Diseases
GENEVA, Switzerland and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Serono S.A. (NYSE: SRA; SWX: SEO) and
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX - news) announced today that they have entered into a collaboration to
discover, develop, and market caspase inhibitors. Caspase inhibitors are a class of compounds with the potential to treat
serious neurological and inflammatory diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Vertex could receive up to $95 million to
support and expand Vertex's drug discovery activities in the caspase protein family, including milestone payments as drug
candidates move through development. The two companies expect to select a first drug development candidate in 2001.
``Serono will build on its commitment to the treatment of autoimmune and serious inflammatory diseases with a new generation
of small molecule therapeutics that have the potential to treat life-threatening conditions through completely novel mechanisms of
action,'' said Ernesto Bertarelli, CEO of Serono. ``This agreement gives us access to an established drug discovery program
with near-term product development potential. The combination of Serono's understanding of these diseases with Vertex's
leadership in the field of caspase inhibition gives us great confidence in the powerful potential of this collaboration.''
``Vertex's chemogenomics approach has enabled us to move rapidly in the design and synthesis of multiple lead classes of
compounds directed at caspase targets,'' said Joshua Boger, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Vertex. ``Vertex has established a
strong intellectual property position in the discovery of caspase inhibitors. With the collaboration announced today, we will gain
access to Serono's substantial capabilities in molecular biology, pre-clinical pharmacology and development. This new
partnership, combined with our collaboration with our Far East partner Taisho Pharmaceutical, allows Vertex to leverage our
success and pursue additional caspase targets.''
Caspase inhibitors have the potential to prevent cell and tissue damage common to a range of diseases. Caspases comprise a
family of 11 known human enzymes that play specific roles in apoptosis (programmed cell death) and inflammation. To increase
the pace of drug discovery for structurally similar targets such as caspases, Vertex has pioneered the field of chemogenomics,
which unites genomic information, structural biology and computational chemistry with other aspects of drug discovery.
Under the terms of the agreement announced today, Vertex will receive $5 million in payments for prior research, and could
also receive up to $20 million in research funding over the next five years. Vertex could also receive an additional $70 million in
milestone payments for the successful development and commercialization of more than one drug candidate. The two
companies will share development costs. Vertex and Serono will establish a joint venture for the commercialization of products
in North America, where they will share marketing rights and profits from the sale of caspase inhibitors. Serono will have
exclusive rights to market caspase inhibitors in other territories, excluding Japan and certain other countries in the Far East, and
will pay Vertex for the supply of drug substance. In November 1999, Vertex and Taisho Pharmaceutical established a
collaboration to develop and market caspase inhibitors in Japan and certain Far East markets.
Vertex's expertise in caspase inhibition
Vertex has conducted extensive research into the role of caspases in disease. As part of its drug discovery efforts to date in the
caspase protein family, Vertex has determined the three-dimensional atomic structure of several caspases and caspase/inhibitor
co-complexes. Vertex has also identified the physiological role of specific caspases using gene-targeting approaches. Using
medicinal, computational and combinatorial chemistry, Vertex has generated lead classes of caspase inhibitors, and has patents
issued or filed related to classes of caspase inhibitors and methods for discovering caspase inhibitors using Vertex's proprietary
technologies. The Company's successful design and optimization of inhibitors of the inflammation target caspase-1 (ICE), has
produced orally active compounds, including VX-740. Vertex's partner, Aventis, is conducting Phase II trials with VX-740 in
patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Vertex is currently conducting drug optimization studies to evaluate other inhibitors of
caspases involved in apoptosis, and clinical testing of another Vertex-discovered caspase inhibitor could begin as early as
2002.
About Vertex
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated discovers, develops and markets small molecule drugs that address major unmet medical
needs. Vertex has 12 drug candidates in clinical development to treat viral diseases, inflammation, cancer, autoimmune diseases
and neurological disorders. Vertex has created its pipeline using a proprietary, information-intensive approach to drug design
that integrates multiple technologies in biology, chemistry and biophysics, aimed at increasing the speed and success rate of
drug discovery. Vertex's first approved product is Agenerase(TM) (amprenavir), an HIV protease inhibitor, which Vertex
co-promotes with Glaxo Wellcome.
About Serono
Serono, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is a global biotechnology leader. The company has four recombinant products
on the market: Gonal-F®, Rebif®, Serostim®, and Saizen®. In addition to being the world leader in reproductive health,
Serono has strong market positions in the therapeutic areas of neurology, metabolism and growth. The Company's research
programs are focused on growing these businesses and on establishing new therapeutic areas. Currently, there are seven
molecules in development including six recombinant proteins.
In 1999, Serono achieved worldwide sales of US $1.054 billion and a net income of $183.7 million, making it the third largest
biotech company based on revenues. The Company operates in 45 countries, and its products are sold in over 100 countries.
Bearer shares of Serono S.A., the holding company, are traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange (SEO) and its American
Depositary Shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (SRA).
Some of the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are inherently subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to
be materially different from those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions, which may be affected by a number of factors, including those
discussed below and more fully described in the Company's prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission on July 26, 2000. These factors include any failure or delay in the Company's ability to develop new products, any
failure to receive anticipated regulatory approvals, any problems in commercializing current products as a result of competition
or other factors, our ability to obtain reimbursement coverage for our products, and government regulations limiting our ability
to sell our products. The Company has no responsibility to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press
release to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
SOURCE: Serono S.A. |
