CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has received a $1.25 million milestone payment in the form of equity securities in iCo Therapeutics. The milestone was related to the initiation of Phase 1 clinical trials of iCo-007, a drug licensed to iCo by Isis in 2005 for the treatment of various eye diseases, including diabetic macular edema.
“Because our antisense technology enables us to rapidly discover so many highly selective antisense drugs to diverse and important disease targets, we are not able to invest in the development of every promising drug candidate. By licensing drugs at various points in development, we can continue to expand the scope and value of our external pipeline in therapeutic areas that are outside of our key focus, as evidenced by this latest clinical milestone from iCo,” said C. Frank Bennett, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research at Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “We are enthusiastic about the potential for iCo-007 as a treatment for diabetic macular edema.”
About iCo-007
Designed and discovered by Isis, iCo-007 is a second-generation antisense drug that inhibits the production of c-Raf kinase, an enzyme associated with the formation of new and often abnormal or fragile blood vessels in the eye. Blood vessel breakage and leakage can contribute to vision loss, and iCo-007 is expected to decrease swelling in the retina and related visual impairment by decreasing the signaling of various growth factors such as VEGF that signal through the c-Raf kinase / MAP kinase pathway.
About Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Isis is exploiting its expertise in RNA to discover and develop novel drugs for its product pipeline and for its partners. The Company has successfully commercialized the world’s first antisense drug and has 17 drugs in development. Isis’ drug development programs are focused on treating cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Isis’ partners are developing drugs for a wide variety of diseases. Ibis Biosciences, Inc., Isis’ wholly owned subsidiary, is developing and commercializing the Ibis T5000(TM) Biosensor System, a revolutionary system to identify infectious organisms. As an innovator in RNA-based drug discovery and development, Isis is the owner or exclusive licensee of over 1,500 issued patents worldwide. Additional information about Isis is available at http://www.isispharm.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding Isis’ business, its partnership strategies, its collaboration with iCo Therapeutics and the therapeutic potential of iCo-007. Any statement describing Isis’ goals, expectations, financial or other projections, intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement, including those statements that are described as Isis’ goals. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, particularly those inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavor of building a business around such products. Isis’ forward-looking statements also involve assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove correct, could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements. Although Isis’ forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by Isis. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning Isis’ programs are described in additional detail in Isis’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2007, which are on file with the SEC. Copies of these and other documents are available from the Company.
In this press release, unless the context requires otherwise, “Isis,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” means Isis Pharmaceuticals and its subsidiaries.
Isis Pharmaceuticals, Ibis Biosciences and Ibis T5000 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Kristina Lemonidis, Associate Director, Investor Relations,
+1-760-603-2490, or Amy Blackley, Ph.D., Manager, Corporate Communications,
+1-760-603-2772, both of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Web site: http://www.isispharm.com/
