Siena - Italy, March 31st 2010 Siena Biotech S.p.A., announced today that Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) will exercise its option early to become the lead party for further development, manufacture and commercialization of certain selected candidate molecules for a better treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Siena Biotech has received an undisclosed option exercise fee and is eligible for further success payments upon attainment of certain development and regulatory milestones. Following successful development and commercialization of any of the candidate compounds, Siena Biotech will also receive royalties on product sales: Siena Biotech has retained rights for the further research and development of commonly discovered novel compounds for Orphan indications.
“The Collaboration Agreement with Roche is an excellent example of our commitment to the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and rare forms of disease for which there is a large unmet medical need,” says Dr. Giovanni Gaviraghi, Chief Executive Officer of Siena Biotech S.p.A. “We believe the option exercised by Roche is a significant point in the advancement of our pipeline. This project represents one of many potentially significant compounds moving towards clinical trials, bringing to the market new therapies that will help people with incurable diseases. We believe that Roche’s selection of these compounds will speed such development providing Siena Biotech with additional resources to advance other compounds in our pipeline to clinical development”.
“Roche’s option exercise on the jointly developed molecules is a further validation of Siena Biotech’s discovery and development capabilities, confirming the sound science deployed in the research efforts on this and other projects and the commitment of our management and of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation to tackle new mechanisms of therapeutic action that have not been successfully addressed before”, added Marco Parlangeli, President of Siena Biotech S.p.A. and Managing Director of Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation.
Background on the collaboration between Roche and Siena Biotech S.p.A.
The Research and Collaboration Agreement between Roche and Siena Biotech was signed in April 2007 to perform joint research activities on an undisclosed target, with the primary objective to identify active compounds against neurodegenerative diseases, and specifically Alzheimer’s Disease.
The two companies have contributed with their respective Intellectual Property, assets and know-how, and have been exclusively collaborating on the selected target, sharing the IP which has emerged from the collaboration. The partnership included equal contribution to the research costs, with the two companies contributing activities in compound screening, design, generation and optimization towards identification of candidate molecules to be considered for further clinical development.
About Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s is a fatal disease, the most common cause of irreversible dementia, the seventh leading cause of death in developed countries and the fifth for those over age 65. It is a major health problem worldwide, and has enormous impact on individuals suffering from it, their families, the health care systems supporting them and for society as a whole. It is estimated that currently 18 million people worldwide are affected by Alzheimer’s disease (more than 5 million people in the U.S. and between 6 and 7 million in Western Europe). Its prevalence doubles every five years beyond the age of 65, up to a ratio of 1:2 in people aged 85 and over. With the continued ageing of populations in industrialized countries, the burden of disease in terms of social costs and quality of life is expected to increase substantially.
About Siena Biotech
Siena Biotech S.p.A. is an innovative, clinical-stage drug discovery company whose R&D efforts are focused on discovering new drugs for therapeutic intervention against neurodegenerative diseases and in oncology. The company, based in Siena, Italy, is structured around drug discovery technology platforms from target validation to clinical studies. The company has developed an internal portfolio of several innovative R&D projects in three therapeutic areas: Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease and Cancer. The projects are rapidly progressing through the pipeline, in some cases as parts of strategic R&D alliances with major pharmaceutical companies. Siena Biotech has built a wide network of external collaborations, both in the academic and business communities, to add to the scientific excellence of internal R&D, thus creating a sound scientific base for its interactions with patients and physicians. Siena Biotech is the instrumental company of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation to operate in the field of scientific research and biotechnology, in line with its founding charter and mission.
More information about Siena Biotech available at: http://www.sienabiotech.com
