The News

Cellzome Announces Extension of Drug Discovery Collaboration in Alzheimer's Disease with Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.

31/01/2007

Boston, 31th January 2007 - Cellzome Inc. announced today that Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. and its affiliate Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. (J&JPRD), have extended their joint Research Program aimed at identifying new medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (‘AD’) for one year. First announced in March 2005, the collaboration provides J&JPRD with Cellzome’s Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) processing pathway map containing new drug targets, its chemical proteomics technology, and novel small molecules targeted at Gamma Secretase.

Tim Edwards, Cellzome’s CEO, said: “Since beginning of the collaboration in March 2005, the two companies have worked closely to identify and advance lead candidates from the Gamma Secretase Modulator project, and are now extending the collaboration to find leads against additional novel targets from the APP pathway. This is the second of our collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies to extend into 2008, and indicates the value of the interactions identified by our technology and the high quality of the drug discovery work taking place at Cellzome.”

About Cellzome Inc.
Cellzome is a privately owned drug discovery company applying its world-class technology to the discovery of novel small molecule therapeutics. Cellzome is commercializing its assets and technology by developing its own pipeline of small molecule kinase inhibitors for inflammatory disease, and by collaborating with leading pharmaceutical companies.

Cellzome’s emerging pipeline includes a small molecule Histamine H4 receptor antagonist, initially for asthma and allergic rhinitis, which is scheduled to begin clinical studies in early 2008. In addition,
Cellzome is applying its distinctive Kinobeads™ technology to the discovery and development of novel, selective, kinase inhibitors targeting key inflammatory mediators in immune receptor signaling and chemotaxis, including ITK, PI3Kã and ZAP70.

The Company also has a large non-exclusive research collaboration with Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Inc. (NIBRI), using our leading proteomics capability to discover new drug targets and leads in a variety of disease areas; this was recently extended to June 2008. Cellzome is intent on developing both organically and through merger or acquisition. Our holding company is domiciled in the USA and we employ about 80 people in total at our facilities in Cambridge, UK and Heidelberg, Germany. To learn more about Cellzome, please visit our website:www.cellzome.com

About Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer's Disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. It is the most common cause of dementia in older people. About 20 million people are affected world-wide and at the current rate the number is expected to double by 2025. In the United States alone, more than 4.5 million people are currently afflicted with the disorder, resulting in healthcare costs of close to $ 100 billion annually. The AD therapeutic market is currently valued at about $4.7 billion in the major markets (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan) and is expected to increase to $7.8 billion by the year 2010.
The first symptoms of AD usually set in after the age of 60. With the degeneration of healthy brain tissue, intellectual and social abilities are lost and patients eventually are left with little comprehension or awareness.

Amyloid plaques are the pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's Disease and form as the disease develops in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Genetic studies in recent years have shown that the protein in these plaques, called amyloid-beta or simply Aâ, is a central part of the mechanism which causes the disease. Aâ peptide is generated from a large transmembrane precursor protein, called APP, by two subsequent proteolytic cleavages that occur close to, or within the membrane. The first cleavage is carried out by an aspartic protease called â-secretase (BACE) and the second cleavage is carried out by a multi-protein complex called ã-secretase. At Cellzome, we have mapped the protein interaction network around this process and identified several target candidates.

For further information please contact:
Cellzome Inc.
Tim Edwards
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +49 (0) 6221-137 57-100
press@cellzome.com
Media Contact
Hogarth Partnership
John Olsen
Tel: +44 (0) 207 357 9477
jolson@hogarthpr.co.uk