Singapore, March 18, 2009 - S*BIO Pte Ltd today announced that it has received BioSingapore’s 2009 award for the “Most Successful Bio-partnership in Asia”. Dr. Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO of S*BIO, accepted the award on behalf of the company at the 2nd annual BioSingapore Award Gala Dinner during the BioMedical Asia 2009 Conference.
BioSingapore annually receives nominations from biotechnology industry associations, industry peers, academics and institutions across Asia-Pacific for the most outstanding companies or individuals in various categories. Adjudged by a panel of distinguished leaders in the field, BioSingapore’s Asia-Pacific Biotechnology Awards recognize the outstanding performance of companies and colleagues in the past year. S*BIO was chosen by its peers for its accomplishments in the life sciences industry, and for the significant contributions the company has made to advancing scientific enterprise in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We thank our colleagues in the industry for recognizing S*BIO’s corporate development efforts,” said Dr. Karlsson. “We are proud of our recent and past successes in building strategic partnerships with well respected biotechnology companies that would expedite the clinical development of our novel compounds.
“Most recently, we signed a development collaboration and options & license agreement with Onyx Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize our JAK2 inhibitors, SB1518 and SB1578, and are eligible to receive up to US$550 million in combined equity purchase, option & license fees, and development and sales milestone payments. In January of this year, we also announced our worldwide exclusive license agreement with Tragara Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize S*BIO’s novel multi-kinase inhibitor SB1317, and may receive up to US$112.5 million in payments.”
About BioSingapore
BioSingapore was established in May 2004 as the industry association for life sciences and biotechnology businesses based in Singapore. With members from across the sector, BioSingapore’s goal is to “Create, Develop, and Promote” the burgeoning biomedical sciences cluster in Singapore and throughout the region. BioSingapore’s members have operations and business linkages across Asia-Pacific, and the organization is an active member of BioNet Asia Pacific (BNAP) network of national biotechnology industry associations.
About S*BIO Pte Ltd
S*BIO is a privately-held biotech company focused on the research and clinical development of novel targeted small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer with leading programs around histone deacetylases (HDAC) and kinases. S*BIO’s lead candidate, SB939, entered the clinic in 2007. SB1518, S*BIO’s potent and orally-active JAK2 inhibitor, also entered the clinic in 2008 and has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. FDA. S*BIO has entered into a development collaboration, and option & license agreement with Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop and commercialize SB1518 and its other novel JAK2 inhibitor, SB1578. S*BIO’s SB1317, a novel multi-kinase inhibitor, is in pre-clinical development and under a worldwide exclusive license with Tragara Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for its development and commercialization.
In line with its vision to be a leading fully-integrated oncology-focused biotech company in Asia Pacific, S*BIO has established a state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure, complemented by a strong clinical development team. S*BIO has strong links with a network of medical oncologists in Asia Pacific and its investors include EDB Investments’ biomedical sciences subsidiary Bio*One Capital, Aravis Ventures, Novartis Bioventures and other international funds. In 2009, S*BIO received the BioSpectrum Editor’s Choice, Emerging BioScience Company of Singapore Award. More information about S*BIO can be found at www.sbio.com.
