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Biotech / Medical : SKYEY - SkyePharma PLC -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dr. John M. de Castro who wrote (39)	9/1/1999 10:54:00 AM
From: sim1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 56

SkyePharma Acquires Nanoparticle Technology - Technology broadens SkyePharma's drug delivery capabilities - LONDON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyePharma PLC (Nasdaq: SKYE; LSE: SKP) announced today that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire nanoparticle drug delivery technology from Medac GmbH, a leading German oncology company. As part of the acquisition, SkyePharma will obtain access to a number of existing feasibility and development contracts currently in place. Under the terms of the agreement, SkyePharma has made an initial payment of $2.5 million cash and has issued 3,067,286 new Ordinary Shares to Medac. The agreement also provides for additional payments of up to $5 million by Q2 2001 and future royalties, conditional on certain performance criteria. The acquisition of Medac's nanoparticle technology gives SkyePharma access to important enabling technologies that provide for the enhanced delivery of poorly water soluble drugs. Solubility of drugs is an essential factor for all drug delivery systems, independent of the route of administration. Poor solubility leads to a range of problems including poor bioavailability, food effect, poor efficacy, and even the abandonment of promising new molecules. Three different technologies have been acquired by SkyePharma: -- NanoSuspensions, a dispersion of pure drug without any matrix in fluids; -- Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, solid solutions of drugs in a lipid matrix, and -- Solid Polymer Nanoparticles, solid solutions of drugs in a solid polymer matrix. Patents have been granted covering all three of the technologies in at least one major territory in Europe or the U.S. Michael Ashton, Chief Executive of SkyePharma PLC said, "Nanoparticle technology is an important enabling tool which we expect will enhance all of our existing oral, injectable and inhalation delivery platforms and allow us to compete in an expanding market place. We believe we have found the right technology which gives us and our clients additional advantages over similar technologies providing ease of manufacture and the flexibility to use the same equipment for all three technologies." SkyePharma -- one of the world's leading drug delivery companies -- develops and manufactures advanced drug delivery solutions. Its technologies include oral controlled release, inhalation and injectable systems. For company information, visit SkyePharma on the World Wide Web at http:\\www.skyepharma.com. This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding programs for SkyePharma PLC. Actual results could differ materially from those described in the press release as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to the following: There can be no assurance that any product in the SkyePharma product pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured, or that final results of human clinical trials will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market products, or that final regulatory approval will be received in a timely manner, if at all, or that patient and physician acceptance of these products will be achieved, or that the regulatory milestones triggering payments contemplated by this agreement will be received by SkyePharma. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.