ChemDiv, Inc. and iDialog Nominate Novel Inhibitor of Hepatitis C for Clinical Development

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - September 15, 2009) - ChemDiv Inc. of San Diego, and iDialog (Intellektualniy Dialog) of Yaroslavl, Russia, announced today the successful completion of a pre-clinical development and the subsequent nomination of ID-12 as lead clinical development candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. This novel small molecule orally-bioavailable inhibitor of hepatitis C virus (HCV) blocks early stage of viral infection.

Vadim Bichko, Ph.D, ChemDiv’s Vice President of Virology, stated: “We are very encouraged by the safety, potency, PK profile, and novel molecular mechanism of action, exhibited by iDialog’s HCV inhibitor in the preclinical studies. We are quite excited by the ability of ID-12 to prevent spread of viral infection through cell-cell contact, which makes it superior to the neutralizing antibodies and other viral entry inhibitors. This mechanism of action is complimentary to that of other classes of HCV inhibitors currently on the market, or in late stage clinical development. Thus, ID-12 is a potentially important component of therapeutic cocktails for chronic hepatitis C.”

The Phase I study is scheduled to begin in Q4 2009, and will be conducted in Russia. The objectives of the trial include assessment of safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics. iDialog plans to present first clinical results at a scientific meeting in the second half of 2010. ChemDiv will continue supporting R&D programs of iDialog, including Proof of Concept Studies in man, through its Chemical Diversity Research Institute in Moscow, Russia.

Prof. Dr. Mikhail Dorogov, Director General of iDialog, confirmed: “We are happy that our discovery effort over last 3 years resulted in advancement of the candidate molecule to clinic. We shall strive in developing a successful new therapy for treatment of large population of hepatitis C patients worldwide. With its current financing iDialog is planning to complete the early development program to obtain clinical Proof of Concept. We are actively exploring options, which will allow us to accelerate the program with maximizing our shareholder’s return on investment. We believe our approach is matching to innovative models of early partnering, co-development an co-investment established by pharma and investment community in the recent past.”

About Hepatitis C

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 4.1 million persons in the United States have been infected with HCV, and 3.2 million of these people are chronic carriers. Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development estimates that over 7 million people in Russia have been infected with various types of Hepatitis and 2 million of them, chronically.

About ChemDiv

ChemDiv Inc. (Chemical Diversity) is a global contract research organization accelerating external discovery and development of novel therapies through comprehensive Discovery Outsource™ services, including discovery biology, medicinal and synthetic chemistry, pre-clinical and clinical development.

About iDialog

iDialog was established in 2006 as an innovative biopharma start up. It received over USD$3M of seed investment from Torrey Pines Investment in 2007 and subsequently won the research partnership award of over USD$3 from the Russian Federal Agency of Science and Innovation for development of novel anti-infective agents to match unmet needs in Russia. iDialog conducted and continues the broad program to discover novel therapies for Tuberculosis, hepatitis C and Influenza, in partnership with Moscow State University and other academic organizations. In 2008 iDialog established the R&D collaboration with ChemDiv’s Chemical Diversity Research Institute for discovery and development of novel small molecule anti-infective agents, which is extended to 2011.