PVG.L Regulatory News (PVG)

10 Oct 2007 07:01

Ark Therapeutics Group PLC10 October 2007 Ark Therapeutics Group plc Ark signs agreement to spin out eye-related discoveries to Eyecopharm AG 10 October 2007, London, UK: Ark Therapeutics Group plc ("Ark") today announcesthat it has signed an agreement to spin out its non-core discovery stageanti-angiogenic peptides and peptoid leads and associated science to EyecopharmAG ("Eyecopharm" or the "Company"), a newly formed company focused specificallyon eye diseases. Eyecopharm has been founded in Hamburg by Professor Heinrich MSchulte, the renowned biotech entrepreneur and founder of Evotec AG andEndokrinologikum Medical, a rapidly growing medical care and diagnostics groupin Germany. Under the terms of the agreement, Ark has licensed the specific applicationrights to its intellectual property for use in eye disease in return for a 9%equity carried interest in Eyecopharm and a single-digit royalty on future salesof products derived from Ark technologies. The Company will be responsible forconducting all preclinical and clinical work and financing going forwards. Arkwill hold at least one position on Eyecopharm's Board and will providescientific advice and may perform contracted research services for the Company. Ark's Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) based preclinical researchprogrammes have produced small peptides which have shown significant effects inreducing angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels) on the retina, inestablished models recognised to be predictive for human disease. The peptideprofiles, with their specificity for the key receptors KDR and Neuropilin 1,provide a new anti-angiogenic approach without the risk of causing loss ofvascular integrity in normal vessels and associated unwanted effects ofnon-specific VEGF suppression. Eyecopharm's initial clinical target will be wet age-related maculardegeneration (wet AMD), a disease which results in blindness due to anovergrowth of small blood vessels on the retina at the back of the eye. Thisdisorder affects some 1.7 million people in the USA(1). Although current VEGFtherapy represents a break-through in the treatment of wet AMD, there is anongoing need for still better therapies. Two products currently dominate themarket for wet AMD and are expected to generate revenues of more than US$800million in 2007(1). Commenting on the agreement, Nigel Parker, CEO of Ark said "We are delightedthat Ark's discovery and preclinical activities are proving highly productiveand are now generating some very interesting drug candidate opportunities.Through this new company led by Professor Schulte, our early discoveries in thisarea will now get the focus, momentum and necessary expert input needed to takethem through into clinical development in this very specialised sector ofmedicine. Ark will remain flexible to entering arrangements like this so thatour shareholders can benefit from the value of our discoveries outside our coreareas of expertise." Professor Heinrich Schulte, Founder and Chairman of Eyecopharm added "This is avery important agreement for us as it gives us access to an initial range oflead development opportunities with validated clinical targets. Through our ownresearch activities as well as those historically conducted by Ark, thesemolecules are showing early signs of high potential. Having access to Ark'sscientific expertise and business experience is also a large benefit to us inmoving Eyecopharm forwards. We look forward to building Eyecopharm into ahighly successful biotech company specialised in the development of noveltreatments for eye diseases." (1) Source: Company research using publicly available figures. For further information please contact: Ark Therapeutics Group plc +44 (0)20 7388 7722Dr Nigel Parker, Chief Executive OfficerMartyn Williams, Chief Financial Officer Financial Dynamics +44 (0)20 7831 3113David Yates/Lara Mott Eyecopharm AGRolf Guenther +49 40 471 96 501 Notes to Editors Eyecopharm AG Eyecopharm is privately funded pharmaceutical development company with atherapeutic focus on ocular diseases. Partnerships with leading life sciencecompanies and institutions provide the Company with a strong, patent-protected,therapeutic pipeline serving unmet medical needs for severe, vision threateningocular conditions. Eyecopharm develops novel therapies from a preclinical, proofof principle stage onward, with an emphasis on partnership with largepharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for late stage clinical development.The Company was founded in 2007 in Hamburg, Germany being largely under thecontrol of Professor Heinrich M Schulte, with an initial capital injection ofeuros 2 million. Professor Schulte is a well known and respected biotechentrepreneur, and founder of several medical care and diagnostic businesses,including Evotec AG and Endokrinologikum Medical. Ark Therapeutics Group plc Ark Therapeutics Group plc is a specialist healthcare group (the "Group")addressing high value areas of unmet medical need within vascular disease, woundcare and cancer. These are large and growing markets, where opportunities existfor effective new products to generate significant revenues. With three marketeddevices, Kerraboot(R), Flaminal(R) and Kerraped(R) and three further leadpharmaceutical products in late stage clinical development: Cerepro(R), Vitor(TM), and Trinam(R), the Group is transitioning from an R&D company to a commercial, revenue generating business. Ark's own products are sourced from related but largely non-dependenttechnologies within the Group and have been selected to enable them to be takenthrough development within the Group's own means and to benefit from Orphan DrugStatus and/or Fast Track Designation, as appropriate. This strategy has allowedthe Group to retain greater value and greater control of clinical developmenttimelines, and to mitigate the risks of dependency on any one particularprogramme or development partner. Ark has secured patents or has patentapplications pending for all its lead products in principal pharmaceuticalmarkets. Ark has its origins in businesses established in the mid-1990s by Professor JohnMartin and Mr Stephen Barker of University College London and Professor SeppoYla-Herttuala of the AI Virtanen Institute at the University of Kuopio, Finland, all of whom play leading roles in the Company's research and development programmes. Ark's shares were first listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2004(AKT.L). This announcement includes "forward-looking statements" which include allstatements other than statements of historical facts, including, withoutlimitation, those regarding the Group's financial position, business strategy,plans and objectives of management for future operations (including developmentplans and objectives relating to the Group's products and services), and anystatements preceded by, followed by or that include forward-looking terminologysuch as the words "targets", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "aims","intends", "will", "can", "may", "anticipates", "would", "should", "could" orsimilar expressions or the negative thereof. Such forward-looking statementsinvolve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factorsbeyond the Group's control that could cause the actual results, performance orachievements of the Group to be materially different from future results,performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-lookingstatements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptionsregarding the Group's present and future business strategies and the environmentin which the Group will operate in the future. Among the important factors thatcould cause the Group's actual results, performance or achievements to differmaterially from those in forward-looking statements include those relating toArk's funding requirements, regulatory approvals, clinical trials, reliance onthird parties, intellectual property, key personnel and other factors. Theseforward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement. TheGroup expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate anyupdates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in thisannouncement to reflect any change in the Group's expectations with regardthereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any suchstatements are based. As a result of these factors, readers are cautioned not torely on any forward-looking statement. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange