Heidelberg, June 9, 2008 – SYGNIS Pharma AG (Frankfurt: LIO; ISIN DE0005043509; Prime Standard) today announced that it has acquired privately-owned US biopharmaceutical company Amnestix Inc. (Burlingame, CA), a pioneer in applying high-end genome-scanning and other molecular diagnostics technologies to the discovery of drugs for numerous nervous system diseases. As part of the acquisition, SYGNIS will gain access to a broad range of CNS projects within the world-renowned Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen, Phoenix, AZ). SYGNIS will pay approximately €4 million in cash and shares for Amnestix.
Amnestix was founded by scientists from TGen in 2006, with seed funding from the Brain Trust Accelerator Fund to develop novel therapeutics for improving cognition and memory, which are impaired in a broad spectrum of neurological diseases. The founders of Amnestix, Dr. Dietrich Stephan and Dr. Matthew Huentelman, have discovered a series of novel patentable genes and pathways that play a fundamental role in memory performance in humans using a strategy called whole genome association analysis. Their findings uncovered novel proprietary utilities of protein kinase inhibitors for the treatment of neurological conditions such as cognitive impairment, vascular dementia and others. SYGNIS will continue to pursue the therapeutic development of these compounds which show promise in the field of age-related memory impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological diseases. Detailed mechanistic knowledge is vital to develop disease-modifying agents, as well as to target treatments and thus maximize efficacy for patients.
Dr. Alfred Bach, CEO of SYGNIS Pharma AG, said: “This is an important milestone in the growth and development of our company. The acquisition of Amnestix, with its powerful CNS drug discovery engine, complements our CNS R&D capabilities. Furthermore, it opens direct access to the leading neurogenomic expertise of TGen, and the wider CNS experts in the US, through the Amnestix founders. This unique combination will strengthen and accelerate our ability to build and broaden our innovative neurotherapeutic drug pipeline.”
“Amnestix and SYGNIS have perfectly complementary expertise and infrastructure that makes the acquisition a natural fit. Together, both companies form a powerful and fully integrated CNS focused biopharmaceutical company that is positioned to lead the field in therapies for brain diseases for decades to come,” said Dr. Dietrich Stephan.
Amnestix’ Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Karoly Nikolich, will remain with Amnestix and establish a US presence for SYGNIS in order to broaden its business, partnering, scientific and financial networks. Dr. Nikolich has extensive experience in the biotechnology industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was Executive Director and Chairman of the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Earlier, Dr. Nikolich was founder of AGY Therapeutics and held Senior Executive positions with Lynx Therapeutics and Genentech where he built and led the neuroscience research during the 1980s and 1990s.
About SYGNIS Pharma
SYGNIS Pharma AG (www.sygnis.de), with head offices in Heidelberg, is a specialty pharmaceutical company listed on the Prime Standard of the German stock exchange. The Company is focused on the research, development and marketing of innovative therapies for the treatment of diseases of the nervous system. These include stroke, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and neurological disorders resulting from injuries to the brain or spinal cord. All these disorders are characterized by the fact that, as the disease progresses, nerve cells are damaged and die. Although there is great medical need, there are currently no or only inadequate treatment options available.
About Amnestix
Founded in 2006, Amnestix (www.amnestix.com) focuses on novel therapeutics for improving memory associated with a variety of diseases. Amnestix was created from pioneering discoveries in neurogenomics and memory and cognitive function by Dr. Dietrich Stephan and Dr. Matthew Huentelman at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (www.TGen.org) in Phoenix, Arizona. The company is headquartered in Burlingame, California. The seed funding for Amnestix was provided by the Brain Trust Accelerator Fund, LP managed by John Reher (www.braintrustvc.com).
For further information please contact:
SYGNIS Pharma AG:
Dr. Franz-Werner Haas
Vice President Operations
+49 (0) 6221 454 812
franz-werner.haas@sygnis.de
Media Contact:
Julia Phillips/Emma Thompson
Financial Dynamics
Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7269 7187
Disclaimer
Some statements included in this press release, relating neither to proven financial results nor other historical data, should be viewed as forward-looking, i.e. not definite. Such statements are mainly predictions of future results, trends, plans or goals. These statements should not be considered to be total guarantees since given their very nature they are subject to known and unknown risks and imponderability and can be affected by other factors as a consequence of which the actual results, plans and goals of SYGNIS Pharma AG may deviate greatly from the established conclusions or implied predictions contained in such statements. SYGNIS does not undertake to publicly update or revise these statements in the light of new information or future results or for any other reason.
