Santaris Pharma Delivers Six LNA-Based RNA Inhibitors to Enzon Pharmaceuticals Ahead of Schedule

COPENHAGEN, April 27 /PRNewswire/ — As a testimony to the strength of
Santaris Pharma’s efficient Drug Discovery Engine, the Company announced
today the completion of the delivery of six cancer target drug candidates to
their collaboration partner Enzon Pharmaceuticals. All six drug candidates
have been designed, synthesized and selected in collaboration with Enzon,
within 24 months of commencing the collaboration.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090420/344344 )

“Our collaboration with Enzon Pharmaceuticals has been very productive
and goal oriented enabling both companies to benefit optimally from our
ability to rationally design, discover and select potent and safe RNA
targeted drugs within a short time span,” said Henrik 0rum, Santaris Pharma’s
Chief Scientific Officer.

Santaris Pharma and Enzon Pharmaceuticals signed their agreement in 2006.
As part of the agreement Santaris Pharma retains the lucrative commercial
rights to the drugs within Europe. The agreement included two LNA based RNA
inhibitors at the pre-clinical stage, EZN2968 against HIF-1α, and EZN3042
against Survivin, both of which are currently in Phase I studies conducted by
Enzon, and the development of six additional cancer target drugs selected by
Enzon which are in various stages of preclinical development.

“We are encouraged by the data generated by the first two lead
candidates,” said Dr. Ivan Horak, Executive Vice President of Research,
Development and Chief Scientific Officer, Enzon Pharmaceuticals. “In
addition, I’m pleased to see the continued validation of the Locked Nucleic
Acid (LNA) technology as we continue to evaluate the additional targets in
preclinical programs.”

http://www.santaris.com

Santaris Pharma (founded in 2003) is a privately held biopharmaceutical
company developing new classes of RNA medicines targeting disease-related
mRNAs and miRNAs based on its proprietary LNA chemistry. The Company’s own
research and development activities focus on microRNAs, infectious diseases
and metabolic disorders. Santaris Pharma is leveraging its highly effective
and efficient Drug Discovery Engine to generate lead LNA drug candidates
against a broad array of disease targets selected by strategic partners. The
Company and its corporate partners currently have four compounds in clinical
development and a full pipeline in late preclinical development. Santaris
Pharma has since its inception raised nearly $100 million through private
financing and upfront payments.

    Contact:

    For further information, please contact
    Randi Krogsgaard, Director, Corporate Communications,
    Direct phone +45-4517-9879,
    Cell: +45-20488384,
    E-mail: rmk@santaris.com.

SOURCE Santaris Pharma A/S