CyDex Licenses Captisol(R) to Proteolix, Inc. For Promising Oncology Compound

CyDex, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing improved products through innovative drug delivery, today announced an agreement licensing its Captisol® enabling technology to Proteolix, Inc. for use with a proteasome inhibitor that has shown promise in treating certain cancers such as multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma.

CyDex’s patented Captisol technology improves water solubility, bioavailability and complexation characteristics of insoluble and/or unstable drugs. The CyDex pipeline of licensed and proprietary Captisol-enabled formulations targets a range of market segments including injectables, oral solutions and capsules, ophthalmic solutions, oral solids and inhalation.

CyDex granted Proteolix global rights to Captisol for a formulation of PR-171 — a novel proteasome inhibitor derived from the natural product epoxomicin. PR-171, also known as carfilzomib, is potent on heme tumor cell lines and induces programmed cell death in multiple myeloma cells taken from patients, including those that are resistant to current therapies. The compound is currently in Phase I clinical trials at six leading oncology centers in the United States and Canada. These trials are designed to measure the safety and tolerability of PR-171 in multiple myeloma and lymphoma patients and to describe preliminary evidence of anti-tumor responses. Proteolix, Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area biopharmaceutical company, is dedicated to developing proteasome inhibitors for multiple therapeutic uses.

“We are excited that Proteolix has selected Captisol as an enabling drug delivery technology in developing this promising new cancer therapy,” said John M. Siebert, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Cydex. “Including PR-171, our partners have a total of 22 licensed Captisol formulations involved in clinical trials around the world. We look forward to further expanding CyDex’s technology licensing activity in the months and years ahead. At the same time, we expect to continue making progress on our proprietary products strategy. Our current proprietary pipeline includes eight hospital acute care and four other Captisol-enabled drugs that have the potential to provide unique therapeutic benefits and satisfy unmet medical needs.”2

About CyDex, Inc.

CyDex is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing proprietary products and licensing its Captisol® enabling technology. CyDex is bringing important new medications to patients by developing its own pipeline of proprietary products with advanced drug delivery solutions, and by partnering with the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Four Captisol-enabled drugs are currently being commercially marketed. These include Bristol Myers Squibb’s Abilify IM™, Pfizer Animal Health’s Cerenia™ and Geodon for Injection and Vfend IV, both marketed globally by Pfizer Inc. In addition, CyDex has development agreements with Allergan, Inc.; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Daiichi Asubio Pharma Co., Ltd., of Japan; Merck & Co., Inc.; Kanisa Pharmaceuticals™; Mitsubishi Corporation; OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; PTC Pharma AG; TargeGen, Inc.; Taisho Pharmaceuticals; and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. CyDex also has clinical use agreements with major pharma and biotech companies. CyDex is a privately held company located in suburban Kansas City. To learn more about the company, please visit www.cydexinc.com.

Captisol and Captisol-enabled are registered trademarks of CyDex, Inc.