Omeros Corporation and The Parkinson's Institute Clinical Center Enter into a Collaboration Agreement to Evaluate Novel Target for the Treatment of Movement Disorders

SEATTLE and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Omeros Corporation and The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to evaluate a novel target, proprietary to Omeros, for the treatment of movement disorders. The collaboration is based on Omeros' discovery and prior validation of a previously unknown link between this molecular target in the brain and movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).

"We believe that the data from our earlier studies are the first to establish a link between our target and any movement disorder," stated Gregory A. Demopulos, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Omeros. "We are very pleased that The Parkinson's Institute and Dr. Langston, leaders in the field of Parkinson's disease, have chosen to work with Omeros to generate additional evidence for the potential clinical benefits of therapeutics directed to our proprietary target."

Under the collaboration, Omeros and The Parkinson's Institute will conduct laboratory studies of one or more compounds that block Omeros' proprietary target in a widely used and highly predictive model for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease. Omeros' earlier studies conducted at Emory University by Gary W. Miller, Ph.D. in a similar model showed that compounds blocking this target were as effective as levodopamine, or L-DOPA, the standard treatment for Parkinson's disease for nearly 40 years, at doses 50- to 100-times lower than those of L-DOPA. L-DOPA is also associated with side effects including dyskinesias, hallucinations, sleep disorders and cognitive impairment.

"Omeros' experimental data are the first that I have ever seen to show efficacy equivalent to that of L-DOPA," said Dr. J. William Langston, Scientific Director and Founder of The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center. "Based on the potential for lower dosing and the proposed mechanism of action for Omeros' target, which is different than that of L-DOPA and related dopamine agonists, Omeros' discovery may lead to drugs that could reduce the debilitating side effects of current treatments."

The data from Dr. Miller's laboratory also show that compounds blocking this target potentiate the effect of L-DOPA, and Omeros plans to explore the clinical utility of these and similar compounds, both singly and in combination with L-DOPA. Omeros has built an intellectual property position directed to both the target and blocking compounds in connection with Parkinson's disease, RLS and other movement disorders.

About Omeros Corporation

Omeros Corporation is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products focused on inflammation and disorders of the central nervous system. Omeros' most clinically advanced product candidates are derived from its proprietary PharmacoSurgery(TM) platform designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients undergoing arthroscopic, ophthalmological, urological and other surgical and medical procedures. Omeros has four ongoing PharmacoSurgery(TM) clinical development programs, and its lead product candidate, OMS103HP, is being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical trials for use during arthroscopic surgery to improve postoperative joint function and reduce postoperative pain. Omeros is also building a diverse pipeline of preclinical programs targeting inflammation and central nervous system disorders. For more information on Omeros, visit the Company's Web site at www.omeros.com.

About The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center

The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center is America's only independent non-profit organization that provides basic and clinical research, clinical trials and a comprehensive movement disorder patient clinic for Parkinson's disease, all under one roof. For more information on The Parkinson's Institute, visit the Institute's Web site at www.thepi.org.

CONTACT: Susan Neath, Burns McClellan, Investor & Media Relations,
+1-212-213-0006, sneath@burnsmc.com, for Omeros; Ken Toren, Executive
Director, The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center, +1-408-542-5657
ktoren@thepi.org

Web site: http://www.omeros.com/
http://www.thepi.org/