 ENKAM Pharmaceuticals Engages The Sage Group as Advisors on Global Strategic Partnering in Neuroscience and Cancer
Date: 28 Apr 2009Copenhagen and Cambridge, 28th April 2009 - ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S (“ENKAM” or “the Company”), the privately held biopharmaceutical development company focused on cancer and central nervous system disorders, is pleased to announce that it has engaged The Sage Group (“Sage”), a leader in the provision of strategic and transactional consultancy services to US and European healthcare and life science companies, to advise on global strategic partnering opportunities in order to realise the Company’s potential value.
The Sage Group works with healthcare and life science firms, including their investors and shareholders, to realize value through M&A, licensing and strategic partnering activities. Sage utilises its specialist knowledge of the healthcare and life science sector to identify and create opportunities for its clients such as ENKAM.
ENKAM utilises a unique discovery approach that enables the design of active, synthetic peptides that mimic specific functions of larger proteins. ENKAM was established to develop and commercialize research in cell adhesion and protein interactions at University of Copenhagen, particularly related to the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM, also the cluster of differentiation CD56). This has focused on the role of NCAM in cognition, neuroprotection, stem cell differentiation, and tumor growth and metastasis.
NCAM is an emerging target with blockbuster potential for Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia and mood disorders. The company owns a large peptide library of over 1,000 molecules. ENKAM’s portfolio includes 4 products in or approaching clinical development. FGLL, ENKAM’s most advanced product, is targeted at Alzheimer’s disease, and has a unique pharmacological profile with the potential to modify the progression of the disease. The drug successfully completed a Phase I clinical study in 2005 and is the first compound in its class to enter the clinic. FGLL is currently being prepared to enter Phase II clinical trials. The Company is looking to partner its lead product, FGLL in advance of entering into Phase II trials.
Morten Albrechtsen MD, Chief Executive and a founder of ENKAM Pharmaceuticals, said: “ENKAM has established a strong niche and has valuable assets to offer a partner. We are delighted to gain access to strategic and transactional support from a seasoned group of business developers and strategic transactionalists in realising the value of ENKAM’s portfolio.”
Commenting on this announcement, Dr. Bill Mason, Executive Director of The Sage Group said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with ENKAM in exploiting their exciting technology and ultimately realising value for their shareholders. ENKAM has a unique approach which is well advanced in terms of targeting key diseases in neuroscience and oncology. We will work with ENKAM to identify and engage with leading global companies who can collaborate with them to develop their potential and take their unique portfolio of products to market.”
Ends
For enquiries please contact:
ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S
Morten Albrechtsen, Chief Executive Officer +45 24 25 62 66
Robert Mansfield, Executive Chairman
www.ENKAM.com
The Sage Group +44 (0)1223 844128
Dr. Bill Mason, The Sage Group
Email: wtm@sagehealthcare.com
Notes for Editors
About ENKAM
ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a biopharmaceutical development company focused on neuroscience and cancer. The company employs a unique discovery approach that enables the design of active, synthetic peptides that mimic specific functions of larger proteins. ENKAM was established to develop and commercialize three decades of research in cell adhesion and protein interactions at University of Copenhagen, particularly related to the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM, also the cluster of differentiation CD56) and its role in cognition, neuroprotection, stem cell differentiation, and tumor growth and metastasis. NCAM is an emerging target with blockbuster potential for Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia and mood disorders.
In addition to NCAM, the company has successfully applied its discovery approach to generate highly specific peptides from well known growth factors such as BDNF (cognition), NGF (pain) and GDNF (Parkinson’s Disease).
ENKAM’s platform technology for peptide discovery combines a series of approaches related to the relationship between structure and activity of larger multifunctional proteins. Functional peptide sequences are identified and tested and transformed into peptides with highly specific activities.
The ENKAM peptide compounds have a number of advantages over proteins, including:
• Greater specific activity, thereby reducing unwanted side effects
• Easy to manufacture and can be produced less expensively than the original protein (synthetic peptide produced by synthetic chemistry)
• Easy to administer, and can be given intranasally and subcutaneously
• Some peptides can cross the blood brain barrier, making them particularly suitable for the treatment of Neuroscience disorders
The Company has a rich inventory of active peptides (>1,000 unique sequences). Many of these are based around NCAM, which is a homophilic binding glycoprotein expressed on the surface of neurons, glia, skeletal muscle and natural killer cells. NCAM has been implicated as having a role in cell-cell adhesion, neurite outgrowth, synaptic plasticity and learning and memory. Furthermore active peptide sequences have been generated from growth factors (e.g. BDNF, NGF, GDNF) and growth factors receptors (e.g. FGFR, HER). These peptides are produced under GMP standards.
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