Thursday January 25, 2:00 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Elan Corporation, plc
Elan Corporation, plc and Cambridge Antibody
Technology Create Major Alliance For Human Monoclonal Antibodies in
Neurological Disease
DUBLIN, Ireland and MELBOURN, England, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN - news; ``Elan'')
and Cambridge Antibody Technology (LSE: CAT) (``CAT'') today announced a strategic partnership committed to the
development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of human neurological disorders. The companies will jointly discover and
develop antibody-based therapeutics targeted at a variety of neurological diseases and disorders. CAT will contribute its
proprietary antibody phage display technology and high throughput screening capabilities to the alliance, which will capitalize on
Elan's proven track record in drug discovery and development of treatments for neurological disorders.
Under the terms of the four-year agreement, the two companies will fund all research and development jointly and share
commercialization profits equally. CAT will have primary responsibility for the discovery and optimization of human antibodies
against multiple targets identified by Elan. Elan will evaluate clinical antibody candidates in preclinical models, manage clinical
and regulatory development and will be responsible for global commercialization. Elan and CAT together have already
identified over 40 targets in the field that will immediately become the focus of this alliance.
Commenting on the alliance, Dr. David Chiswell, chief executive officer of CAT said: ``This is a unique opportunity to combine
CAT's powerful human antibody technology with the expertise of Elan to take cutting edge therapeutic products for
neurological disease all the way to the market. This exciting new alliance represents the commitment of yet another world
leading company to CAT's approach of integrated, customized antibody drug development. This reflects CAT's objective,
stated last year, to invest in building our drug pipeline. Elan and CAT share the view that the significant unmet medical need in a
wide range of neurological diseases may be met by a portfolio of human antibody-based drugs.''
Commenting further, Donal J. Geaney, chairman and chief executive officer of Elan said: ``This alliance with CAT, a leading
company in antibody technology, strengthens Elan's commitment to basic research in the area of neurological disorders. We are
truly excited by the potential for novel therapeutics to emerge from the synergistic combination of our experienced neurological
research group with the accomplished scientists in CAT.''
Elan Corporation, plc is a leading worldwide fully integrated pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ireland, with its
principal research, development, manufacturing and marketing facilities located in Ireland, the United States and Israel. Elan is
focused on the discovery, development and marketing of therapeutic products and services in neurology, pain management,
oncology, infectious disease and dermatology and on the development and commercialization of products using its extensive
range of proprietary drug delivery technologies. Elan shares trade on the New York, London and Dublin Stock Exchanges.
CAT is a UK biotechnology company using its proprietary technologies in human monoclonal antibodies for drug discovery and
drug development. Based in Melbourn, 10 miles south of Cambridge, England, CAT currently employs around 200 people.
CAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange, having raised 41m pounds sterling in its IPO in March 1997. A secondary
offering in March 2000 raised 93m pounds. CAT has a world-leading platform technology for rapidly isolating human
monoclonal antibodies using phage display systems. CAT has an extensive phage display antibody library, currently
incorporating around 100 billion distinct antibodies. This library forms the basis for the company's strategy to develop a
portfolio of clinical development programs and for discovering new drug leads using functional genomics. Four fully human
therapeutic antibodies developed by CAT are at various stages of clinical trials. CAT works in partnership with other
companies at all stages of the drug discovery and development process. CAT's collaborations, past and present, include:
AstraZeneca, BASF Pharma, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Genetics Institute, Genzyme, Human Genome Sciences, Immunex, Oxford
GlycoSciences, Pharmacia, Pfizer, Wyeth-Ayerst and Zyomyx.
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties
including, without limitation, risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of pharmaceutical research, product development and
commercialization, and the impact of competitive products and patents, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from
time to time in periodic reports, including Elan's Annual Report for 1999 on Form 20-F as filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update information on its expectations.
SOURCE: Elan Corporation, plc |
