French ExonHit Therapeutics Achieves First Research Milestone in its Collaboration with Allergan

Compound Synthesized at ExonHit Demonstrates Promising Preclinical Profile

14-Dec-2004

ExonHit Therapeutics announced that it has reached a first research milestone in its collaboration with Allergan. A new orally active small molecule was synthesized by ExonHit's chemists to modulate a pathway identified by ExonHit's alternative splicing profiling technology, DATAS®, in tissues from disease models at Allergan. This compound was shown to have a very good profile in Allergan's in vivo preclinical models of neuropathic pain.

The collaboration between ExonHit Therapeutics and Allergan was established last year to identify, develop and commercialize drugs targeted at the treatment of neuro-degenerative diseases, pain and ophthalmology.

"We are pleased to successfully achieve this first research milestone in our collaboration with ExonHit Therapeutics," stated Scott Whitcup, Allergan's Executive Vice President, Research and Development. "This compound synthesized by ExonHit's chemistry group provides the potential for a new approach to neuropathic pain therapy. We are continuing our strategic collaboration with ExonHit Therapeutics to take full benefit from their innovative DATAS® technology to identify new molecular targets."

"Within two years the team at ExonHit has delivered a very attractive new drug candidate meeting stringent selection criteria," said Bruno Tocque, President of ExonHit Therapeutics. "The use of DATAS® and our cutting-edge chemistry group were key to reaching this proof of concept stage so rapidly. The interaction between Allergan and ExonHit's scientists continues to be first rate. We look forward to further success stemming from this collaboration, particularly in therapeutic areas where unmet needs are still present."

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