NOXXON Pharma achieves important milestone in drug discovery

Dec 3 2009

NOXXON Pharma AG (NOXXON), the biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel medicines based on its unique proprietary Spiegelmer® technology, announced today the achievement of an important milestone in its drug discovery and development partnership with Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY).

NOXXON’s successful identification of a Spiegelmer® with picomolar affinity and high selectivity for its target met contractually specified milestone criteria and triggers a payment of an undisclosed amount. Lilly and NOXXON entered into the agreement last year to discover and develop Spiegelmers® for the treatment of migraine.

NOXXON’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Sven Klussmann, commented: “The rapid delivery of what appears to be an immensely potent compound illustrates the power of the Spiegelmer® platform and represents the first major landmark in our partnership. We now look forward to Lilly applying its substantial expertise in the field of migraine in taking the Spiegelmer® to the next level.”

William Chin, M.D., vice president of discovery and clinical research at Lilly, added: “NOXXON’s identification of the lead compound is an outstanding milestone achievement. The use of Spiegelmers® for the potential treatment of migraine headache is a novel and promising approach. We are excited to continue our work with NOXXON to bring Spiegelmers® to our patients as soon as possible."

Following the completion of the discovery work, the identified Spiegelmer® will undergo pharmacological testing and pre-clinical development. Lilly is responsible for the pre-clinical and clinical development as well as the commercialization of the Spiegelmer® product, provided the product is approved by regulatory authorities.