Arpida Presents a Large Body of Preclinical and Clinical Data at Scientific Conferences

REINACH and BASEL, Switzerland, August 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arpida Ltd. announced today that it will be presenting a large volume of data on iclaprim at the upcoming Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) on 17 - 20 September 2007 in Chicago and at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) on 4 -7 October in San Diego. Furthermore, data on AR-709 and AR-2474 will be presented at ICAAC.

ICAAC and IDSA are major scientific conferences where thousands of scientists and physicians gather to discuss the latest developments in their respective areas. A total of 37 posters have been accepted at these conferences. Additional information can be found on the conference websites.

The following 19 abstracts on iclaprim have been accepted by ICAAC. Nr. Author Title 630 Koeth The Effect of Testing Parameter Variations on the In Vitro Activity of Iclaprim against Staphylococcus aureus 736 Mason In Vitro Activity of Iclaprim against Community-Acquired and Nosocomial Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus 737 Cevenini In Vitro Activity of Iclaprim and Comparators against Chlamydia trachomatis 1073 Aranza Iclaprim (ICL) Defined Quality Control (QC) Limits for MIC and Disk Diffusion (DD) Susceptibility Testing According to CLSI M23-A2 Procedures 1342 Brandt Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability of Iclaprim Oral and Intravenous Formulations in Humans 1487 Brandt Absorption, Pharmacokinetics, Metabolism and Excretion of Iclaprim in Healthy Humans 1491 Brandt Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism of [14C]Iclaprim in the Marmoset 1499 Brandt Interactions of Iclaprim with Human Cytochrome P450 Enzymes 1502 Brandt Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Single and Repeat Ascending Doses of Iclaprim in Healthy Adults 1545 Murphy Comparative Efficacy of Iclaprim (ICL) against Wild-Type and Thymidine Kinase-Deficient S. aureus in a Mouse Protection Model 1574 Jones Bactericidal Activity and Post-Antibiotic Effect of Iclaprim (ICL) against Staphylococcus aureus (SA) 1667 Brown In Vitro Activity of Iclaprim against Clinical Isolates of Legionella pneumophila 1923 Engelhardt Comparative Evaluation of Iclaprim (ICL) MIC Testing with Etest and CLSI Reference Methods 1971 Sader In Vitro Activity of Iclaprim and Comparison Agents Tested against Neisseria gonorrhoeae Including Growth Stimulating Effects 1985 Sader Antimicrobial Activity of a Novel Dihydrofolate Reductase, Iclaprim, Tested against Clinical Strains of Enterobacteriaceae (ENT): Results from the International Study of Iclaprim Susceptibility (ISIS) 1991 Hadvary Microbiological Efficacy of Iclaprim against Staphylococcus aureus in Complicated Skin and Skin Structure Infection (cSSSI): Preliminary Results of ASSIST-1 2000 Sader Comparative Evaluation of Iclaprim Potency and Bactericidal Activity Tested against Enterococci: Results from the International Study of Iclaprim Susceptibility (ISIS) 2016 Sader In Vitro Activity of Iclaprim, a Novel Diaminopyrimidine,Tested against beta-Haemolytic Streptococci from the U.S.and Europe: Results from the International Study of Iclaprim Susceptibility (ISIS). 2198 Sader Antimicrobial Activity of Iclaprim Tested against Recent S. aureus Clinical Isolates: Results from the International Study of Iclaprim Susceptility (ISIS) The following five abstracts on iclaprim have been accepted by IDSA. Nr. Author Title 448 Hadvary Pharmacokinetics of Iclaprim in Subjects with Varying Degree of Hepatic or Renal Insufficiency or Obesity 432 Hadvary Evaluation of the Effect of Iclaprim on the QT Interval in Healthy Volunteers 1104 Leighton Safety of Iclaprim in Complicated Skin and Skin Structure Infections: ASSIST-1 Results 1083 Hadvary Effect of Iclaprim on the QT Interval Based on Results of ASSIST-1 1079 Stevens Efficacy of Iclaprim in Complicated Skin and Skin Structure Infections: Preliminary Results of ASSIST-1 The following five abstracts on AR-709 have been accepted by ICAAC. Nr. Author Title 735 Hawser Post-Antibiotic Effects of AR-709 against Pneumococci 1203 Ressner Determination of the Activity of the Diaminopyrimidine AR-709 against Recent Multidrug-Resistant North American Isolates of Invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae 1543 McKenney Efficacy of AR-709 in Pneumococcal Murine Pneumonia 1914 Honeybourne Concentrations of AR-709 in Plasma and Key Compartments of the Lungs after Microdosing 1929 Lappin Plasma Pharmacokinetics of AR-709 Administered to Male Healthy Volunteers as Microdoses by the Intravenous and Oral Route The following eight abstracts on AR-2474 have been accepted by ICAAC. Nr. Author Title 417 Pankuch Comparative Activity of Three 1,3-Diphenyl Ureas against S. pyogenes Compared to Other Agents 418 Pankuch Antipneumococcal Activities of Three 1,3-Diphenyl Ureas Compared to Other Agents 419 Pankuch Antistaphylococcal Activity of Three 1,3-Diphenyl Ureas Compared with Other Drugs 430 Lociuro Spectrum of Activity of Three Novel 1,3-Diphenyl Ureas AR-2474, AR-2475 and AR-3752 432 Hawser Bactericidal Activity, Post Antibiotic Effect (PAE), and Synergy Studies with AR-2474 A Novel 1,3-diphenyl Urea Topical Antibiotic 433 Zampaloni In Vitro Mutation Studies with Novel 1,3-Diphenyl Urea AR-2474 498 Rouse Initial Efficacy Studies of AR-2474, a Novel 1,3- Diphenyl Urea, in MRSA Skin Infection and Nasal Decolonization Mouse Models 524 Weiss Activity of the Novel 1,3-Diphenyl Urea AR-2474 against Community-Acquired and Nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus Isolates

About Arpida Ltd.

Arpida is a biopharmaceutical company with research facilities near Basel, Switzerland and in the USA. It focuses on the discovery and development of novel drugs that seek to overcome the growing problem of microbial resistance.

Arpida's leading product candidate is intravenous iclaprim, a broad-spectrum antibiotic that targets severe infections requiring hospital treatment, including those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The US Food and Drug Administration has granted fast track status to intravenous iclaprim. In July 2007, Arpida reported the completion of the Phase III programme in complicated skin and skin structure infections. An NDA filing is expected to take place in the second half of 2007.

In June 2007, Arpida announced that it has received approval from the US FDA to initiate Phase II trials with intravenous iclaprim in the treatment of patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) or healthcare associated pneumonia (HCAP).

An oral formulation of iclaprim has successfully completed three Phase I trials: an ADME study (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) with radiolabelled compound, a Phase I bioavailability trial with a solution and one with a capsule formulation. Iclaprim could be offered not only as an intravenous therapy for hospital use in acute situations, but also as an oral formulation, allowing early patient discharge followed by outpatient treatment. This switch should be a valuable instrument in reducing healthcare costs and enhancing patient comfort.

Arpida's fourth most advanced programme, AR-709, targets upper and lower respiratory tract infections acquired in the community setting. AR-709 exhibited potent activity against a large panel of pneumococcal clinical isolates including those resistant to currently used drugs. Promising results of "first-in-man" studies with AR-709 were published in March 2007.

An additional compound, AR-2474, has achieved in vivo proof of concept. AR-2474 has been shown to be highly effective in eradicating pathogens in preclinical models of skin infection and nasal carriage.

Apart from the antibiotic programmes, Arpida has an innovative antifungal therapy (TLT) which is about to enter Phase III clinical trials in Europe, targeting onychomycosis.

Moreover, the company has several other leads in optimisation and additional discovery programmes derived from its own discovery platform at various research stages.

This press release contains specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like believe, assume, expect or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. Against the background of these uncertainties readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The company assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments.

Arpida contacts: Dr Khalid Islam President and CEO Tel: +41-61-417-96-60 Harry Welten MBA, CFO and Senior Vice President Tel: +41-61-417-96-65 Paul Verbraeken Head of Corporate Communications Tel: +41-61-417-96-83

Arpida

CONTACT: Arpida contacts: Dr Khalid Islam, President and CEO, Tel:+41-61-417-96-60; Harry Welten, MBA, CFO and Senior Vice President, Tel:+41-61-417-96-65; Paul Verbraeken, Head of Corporate Communications, Tel:+41-61-417-96-83

MORE ON THIS TOPIC