Ore Pharmaceuticals Acquires Repositioned Clinical-Stage
Drug Candidate from Roche
Ore Pharmaceuticals Completes Patent Filing, Plans to Develop
and Out-License Candidate for Central Nervous System Disease
GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2008
phx.corporate-ir.net;
Ore Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ORXE) announced today that it has acquired from Roche the clinical-stage compound tiapamil. Ore Pharmaceuticals had previously identified potentially novel therapeutic uses for tiapamil in central nervous system (CNS) disease and recently filed for patent protection regarding the use of the compound. The Company plans to further develop tiapamil, and will select the most appropriate of several potential indications, prepare for Phase II clinical trials, and initiate out-licensing activities.
Ore Pharmaceuticals analyzed and subsequently acquired the compound as part of the previously announced drug repositioning partnership agreement with Roche. Tiapamil had reached Phase II or Phase III clinical testing for its original indications in hypertension, arrhythmia, and angina. Repositioning efforts at Ore Pharmaceuticals discovered that tiapamil activates a major regulatory protein in the brain, an activity for which the compound or its class was previously not developed.
Thomas Barnes, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Discovery at Ore Pharmaceuticals, said, "Tiapamil is one of several success stories Ore Pharmaceuticals has had. We were able to show that tiapamil has some unique properties in the CNS, which we are hoping to exploit. We have already shown that the compound was able to improve memory in two different animal models."
Stephen Donahue, M.D., Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Ore Pharmaceuticals, said, "Tiapamil is a great addition to our emerging development pipeline. It has been well characterized by Roche in prior studies. Since tiapamil has been studied in more than 1,000 patients for periods up to 12 months, development risk is reduced relative to similar compounds that are just entering patient trials."
Tiapamil joins GL1001, a clinical-stage candidate for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, in the Ore Pharmaceuticals development pipeline. The Company submitted an investigational new drug application (IND) with the FDA for GL1001 on June 30, 2008 and plans to resume clinical trials on GL1001 in September 2008. Ore Pharmaceuticals is currently seeking a development partner for the late-stage development of GL1001.
Ore Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Officer, Charles L. Dimmler, III, commented, "Our acquisition of tiapamil is an important step in our plan to transform our Company to drug development. This development opportunity is the result of outstanding work on the part of our Discovery scientists who applied our proprietary indications discovery capabilities successfully to identify this new therapeutic application. We have recently taken significant steps to focus our resources and decrease other expenses, enabling us to proceed with development and out-licensing efforts for GL1001 and tiapamil. Further, we anticipate the acquisition of additional repositioned drug candidates in the near term."
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