EPIX Pharmaceuticals Achieves Milestone in Collaboration With Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics
EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EPIX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics through the use of its proprietary and highly efficient in silico drug discovery platform, today announced that it has received a $500,000 milestone payment from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. (CFFT), the nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In this third milestone from its collaboration with CFFT, EPIX successfully identified a hit compound that corrects the functionality of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) ion channel in a cell-based model system. A mutation in the CFTR gene is one of the key factors that ultimately leads to the symptoms, complications and premature mortality in people with CF.
“This milestone marks further progress made in our collaboration with CFFT and, following our recent milestone achievement under our agreement with GlaxoSmithKline, provides another example of the efficiency and productivity of the EPIX discovery engine and development approach,” stated Michael G. Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of EPIX. “So far we have focused mainly on GPCRs as drug targets, and we are very happy to see the benefits of our in-silico methodologies expand to ion channels, which are also proteins embedded in the cell membrane. This hit is a first step in applying our computational-medicinal chemistry approach to the discovery of a drug candidate that could increase the levels of the CFTR protein and thereby improve the activity of CFTR protein for patients with cystic fibrosis. We look forward to continuing our research efforts with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics.”
The milestone payment is part of a research, development and commercialization agreement between EPIX and CFFT signed in 2005 that focuses on discovering potential drug therapies targeting the CFTR ion channel. The most common mutations in the CFTR gene can impair the ability of the protein to make it into the cell membrane and, therefore, to transport chloride in and out of cells. In the lungs and gastrointestinal tract, the reduced levels of CFTR in the membrane lead to the development of the abnormally thick, sticky mucous that causes chronic, life-threatening lung infections and impairs digestion in people with cystic fibrosis. Using its proprietary in silico drug discovery platform, EPIX has modeled several domains of the CFTR protein structure. The goal of this project is to utilize these models to identify compounds that help the CFTR move into the cell membrane more efficiently. EPIX is working with CFFT and using its computational drug discovery capabilities to discover drug candidates that can help restore proper functioning of the CFTR protein.
About the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the leading organization devoted to curing and controlling cystic fibrosis. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, the foundation funds CF research, has 80 chapter and branch offices throughout the country, and supports and accredits a nationwide network of 115 CF care centers, which provide vital treatments and other CF resources to patients and families. For more information, visit www.cff.org.
About EPIX
EPIX Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics through the use of its proprietary and highly efficient in silico drug discovery platform. The company has a pipeline of internally-discovered drug candidates currently in clinical development to treat diseases of the central nervous system and lung conditions. EPIX also has collaborations with leading organizations, including GlaxoSmithKline, Amgen, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.epixpharma.com.
This news release contains express or implied forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that are based on current expectations of management. These statements relate to, among other things, our expectations regarding our drug discovery efforts, the future development of our in-silico methodologies and the benefits of our collaboration with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things: risks that product candidates may fail in the clinic or may not be successfully marketed or manufactured; risks relating to our ability to advance the development of product candidates currently in the pipeline or in clinical trials; failure to obtain the financial resources to complete development of product candidates; our inability to further identify, develop and achieve commercial success for new products and technologies; our inability to achieve commercial success for our products and technologies; our failure to comply with regulations relating to our products and product candidates, including FDA requirements; the risk that the FDA may interpret the results of our studies differently than we have; and risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the U.S. and internationally. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional information regarding these and other risks that we face, see the disclosure contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.