Arrien Pharmaceuticals LLC Announces A Worldwide License Agreement For ARN-6039, A Clinical Stage Oral ROR-Gammat Inverse Agonist For The Treatment Of Psoriasis And Potentially Other Autoimmune Disorders

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arrien Pharmaceuticals (Arrien) announced today that it has completed a worldwide license agreement with a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company for their Phase 1 clinical agent, ARN-6039, which will be developed for the potential treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis and potentially other autoimmune disorders. The license agreement covers the clinical agent ARN-6039 and Arrien’s series of ROR-?t targeting compounds. The financial considerations of this license agreement are undisclosed, but include an upfront license fee, development milestones, sales milestones and royalties on net sales. Prior to licensing, Arrien completed a single U.S. center Phase I clinical trial and established the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single ascending doses of ARN-6039 in healthy adult subjects. The partnership of ARN-6039 at the Phase 1 stage of development is an important milestone for Arrien, validating Arrien’s proprietary small molecule fragment-based discovery platform (FIELDS).

ARN-6039 is an inverse agonist of ROR-?t, a transcription factor that regulates T_H17 and the production of IL-17 and IL-17A, pro-inflammatory cytokines critical to the immunopathology of autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis. Inhibition of ROR-?t has been shown both pre-clinically and clinically to have efficacy in the treatment of multiple autoimmune disorders. ARN-6039 was discovered through Arrien’s proprietary FIELDS drug discovery technology platform.

About Psoriasis ARN-6039

Psoriasis, is a common chronic autoimmune disorder of the skin affecting nearly 3% of the world’s population, or approximately 125 million people worldwide. Increased activity of T_H17 (T helper 17) cells, and the associated excess production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-17 and IL-17A, are critical elements in the pathophysiology of psoriasis. ROR-?t, is a nuclear hormone receptor that is essential for the formation and function of T_H17 cells. These pro-inflammatory cytokines cause cells to rapidly multiply and build up on the skin's surface, resulting in red scaly patches, causing pain and pruritis.

Arrien Pharmaceuticals discovered and advanced the development of ARN-6039, an inverse-agonist targeting ROR-?t, a key transcription factor and the master regulator of human T_H17 (T helper 17) cells. ROR-?t controls cellular differentiation, function, and IL-17 release by T_H17 cells and may help mediate the immunopathology of a broad range of autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis. Arrien believes that ARN-6039 is one of the most advanced agents in development targeting ROR-?t.

About Arrien Pharmaceuticals

Arrien Pharmaceuticals is a targeted therapeutics drug discovery and development company. Arrien applies its proprietary fragment-based FIELDS drug discovery technology to target kinase signaling and nuclear receptor pathways, which are critical pathways in inflammation, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Arrien has developed a pipeline of novel pre-clinical programs for future potential treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Psoriasis, Cancer, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and Parkinson's Disease (PD).

For further information on Arrien Pharmaceuticals, please visit the company's website www.arrienpharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statement/Disclaimer

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These materials contain forward-looking statements based on the currently held beliefs and assumptions of the management of Arrien Pharmaceuticals, which are expressed in good faith and, in their opinion, reasonable. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, financial condition, performance, or achievements of Arrien Pharmaceuticals, or industry results, to differ materially from the results, financial condition, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, recipients of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Arrien Pharmaceuticals disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments.