Nicox Signs Extension of Ophthalmology Agreement with Pfizer
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January 8, 2008. Sophia Antipolis, France. www.nicox.com
NicOx S.A. (Euronext Paris: COX) today announced it has signed an extension of its March 2006 collaboration agreement,which grants Pfizer Inc the exclusive right to apply its proprietary nitric oxide-donating technology to drug discovery research
in the field of ophthalmology. This one-year extension of the research phase of the agreement will result in NicOx receiving 3 million in research funding in March 2008 and prolongs Pfizer's option to license resulting compounds until May 2009.
The joint NicOx-Pfizer research team has been focusing its work on several separate projects, which have involved identifying and testing different classes of nitric oxide-donating compounds that could become treatments for major ocular diseases. In
the most advanced project, encouraging results have been observed for various compounds in in vitro and in vivo preclinical models of a prevalent eye disease.
Ennio Ongini, Vice-President of Research at NicOx, declared: "We believe Pfizer's decision to renew this agreement demonstrates its confidence in the joint research team and the potential of NicOx' technology to yield new drug candidates for
eye disorders. Considerable progress has been made in the research programs and we are expecting that the collaboration will generate a future candidate for development in a major ocular condition."
Under the terms of the agreement (see press release of March 2, 2006), Pfizer paid NicOx an upfront technology license fee of 5 million and made a 15 million equity investment in the Company during 2006. Pfizer has also paid NicOx 6 million in
research funding since signature, in the form of two annual payments of 3 million in 2006 and 2007. NicOx will receive a further 3 million in research funding in 2008, due to this extension of the research phase of the agreement. Pfizer now has
the option to obtain an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize compounds resulting from the research program, in the field of ophthalmology until May 2009. The agreement provides for total potential milestone payments in excess of 300 million in the ophthalmology field, of which 102 million would arise from the successful full development and launch of the first compound.
Eye diseases affect millions of people worldwide and can lead to impaired vision or total blindness. Many important eye conditions still have no effective treatment, while improved drugs are needed in other areas. Furthermore, the ageing of the
population has led to a rapidly growing incidence of these conditions in the world's major pharmaceutical markets. Glaucoma, Age Related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Retinopathy are some of the most prevalent o phthalmic disorders in the
developed world.
An earlier collaboration agreement was executed by the parties in August 2004 and focused specifically on the research and development of nitric oxide-donating prostaglandin F2-alpha analogs for the treatment of glaucoma. The selected candidate
from this earlier agreement, PF-03187207, is in phase 2 clinical development and two separate studies are currently ongoing in the United States and Japan (see press releases of March 28 & 29, 2007 and January 3, 2008).
NicOx (Bloomberg: COX:FP, Reuters: NCOX.PA) is a product-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of investigational nitric oxide-donating drugs to meet unmet medical needs. NicOx is targeting the therapeutic areas of inflammation and cardio-metabolic disease. Resources are focused on two lead compounds, naproxcinod in phase 3 development for the treatment of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis and NCX 4016 in phase 2 for type 2 diabetes.
NicOx has strategic partnerships with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co., Inc.
NicOx S.A. is headquartered in Sophia-Antipolis, France, and is a public company listed on the Euronext Paris (Compartment
B: Mid Caps).
NicOx S.A.,
Les Taissounires - B¢t HB4 - 1681 route des Dolines - BP313, 06906 Sophia Antipolis cedex, France. Tel. +33 (0)4 97 24 53 00 o
Fax +33 (0)4 97 24 53 99
CONTACTS: www.nicox.com NicOx:
Karl Hanks o Manager of Corporate Relations and Market Analysis o Tel +33 (0)4 97 24 53 42 o hanks@nicox.com
Media in the United States - FD: Jonathan Birt o Tel +1 212 850 56 34 o jbirt@fd-us.com
Media in Europe - Citigate Dewe Rogerson: David Dible o david.dible@citigatedr.co.uk
Sylvie Berrebi o Tel +44 (0)207 282 2949 o sylvie.berrebi@cititgatedr.co.uk
