2nd Feb 2006 07:00
BTG PLC02 February 2006 BTG LICENSES ALZHEIMER'S COMPOUNDS TO SENEXIS AND CO-INVESTS £1 MILLION WITH THE WELLCOME TRUST London and Cambridge, UK, 2 February 2006 - BTG plc (LSE: BGC), the medicalinnovations company, and Senexis Limited, a private drug development company,announce today that BTG has exclusively licensed its novel inhibitors ofamyloid-induced toxicity and neuroinflammation to Senexis. These compounds maybe useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and other amyloid-baseddiseases. BTG will receive milestones payments as the compounds progress thoughdevelopment and future royalties on eventual sales. The first milestones willbe triggered by candidate selection and approval to commence clinical studies. "We are delighted to license these novel compounds to Senexis," commented LouiseMakin, BTG's Chief Executive Officer. "We believe Senexis' platform andexpertise in protecting cells and tissues from amyloid-induced toxicity makes itthe ideal partner to take these innovative compounds forwards." Mark Treherne, Senexis' Chief Executive, commented: "We are pleased that Senexishas been able to in-license these compounds to add to our existing portfolio ofnovel compounds. We look forward to being able to accelerate their developmenttowards the clinic." BTG and the technology transfer division of the Wellcome Trust also announcethat they have each invested £500,000 into Senexis to enable the company toprogress preclinical development of its small molecule Alzheimer's programmes.BTG and the Wellcome Trust provided initial funding of £1.4 million to Senexisin November 2002. The number of people with Alzheimer's disease is expected to double over thenext two decades. Currently, five million people in the US alone are affected bythe disease. CONTACTS BTGAndy Burrows, Director of Investor Relations+44 (0)20 7575 1741 Financial DynamicsBen Atwell+44 (0)20 7831 3113 SenexisMark Treherne, Chief Executive+44 (0)1223 496160 About Senexis Senexis is a drug development company, dedicated to the discovery of effectivetreatments and diagnostics for major ageing-related diseases, such asAlzheimer's dementia, type II diabetes and Parkinson's disease. It is nowwidely believed that the misfolding and aggregation of amyloid-like proteinsunderlies the pathologies of these different diseases. Senexis has discoveredpotent and selective compounds that protect cells and tissues from the toxicforms of amyloid. Senexis is funded by BTG plc and the Wellcome Trust. Furtherinformation on Senexis can be found at www.senexis.com. About BTG BTG acquires rights to early stage pharmaceuticals and other medicaltechnologies from a global network of corporations, universities and researchinstitutions. We apply resources, including finance, intellectual property andproject management skills to fund and manage outsourced preclinical and clinicaldevelopment programs. We then commercialise the technologies by licensing topharmaceutical or device companies, or by creating companies to exploit them.Our pipeline comprises around 50 assets at varying stages of development,contributing to an increasing range of products marketed by our licensees. BTGoperates from London, Philadelphia and Osaka. For further information, visitwww.btgplc.com. About the Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is an independent research-funding charity established in1936 under the will of tropical medicine pioneer Sir Henry Wellcome. TheTrust's mission is to promote research with the aim of improving human andanimal health and it currently spends more than £400m p.a. The TechnologyTransfer Division manages the charity's intellectual property portfolio andrelated matters and provides translation funding for early-stage healthcaretechnology development. Over 70 research and license agreements have beentransacted and the division has an interest in around 20 life science Small,Medium Enterprises located in the UK or US. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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