Debiopharm and Aurigene sign agreement for the development and commercialisation of Debio 1142, a novel inhibitor of an undisclosed oncology pathway

Lausanne, Switzerland, and Bangalore, India, April 14, 2011 – Debiopharm Group™ (Debiopharm), a global biopharmaceutical development specialist that focuses on serious medical conditions and particularly oncology, and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd (Aurigene), a Bangalore-based drug discovery company, signed on March 23, 2011 an option and exclusive worldwide license agreement concerning the development and commercialisation of Debio 1142, a novel inhibitor of an undisclosed oncology pathway.

“We are very excited about this new collaboration with Aurigene. Their business model offers a one stop solution for structure guided drug design, lead optimisation and preclinical work. The Debio 1142 project aims at developing inhibitors targeting a key oncology pathway, which plays essential roles in various solid tumours, including resistance to chemotherapy” said Dr Rolland-Yves Mauvernay, president and founder of Debiopharm S.A.

“Coming as it does after a successful collaboration programme we already had with Debiopharm, and as a continuation of our close to 5 year association, the relationship between Debiopharm and Aurigene demonstrates the strategic fit between organisations with complimentary scientific skills. We are happy that we have the opportunity to continue to work with Debiopharm, in a unique business model that has been tailor-made to meet each partners’ needs” added CSN Murthy, CEO of Aurigene.

About Debiopharm Group
Debiopharm Group™ (Debiopharm) is a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies with a focus on the development of prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs. The group in-licenses, develops and/or co-develops promising biological and small molecule drug candidates having reached clinical development phases I, II or III as well as earlier stage candidates. It develops its products for global registration and maximum commercial potential. The products are out-licensed to pharmaceutical partners for sales and marketing. Debiopharm Group is also active in the field of companion diagnostics with a view to progressing in the area of personalised medicine. Debiopharm independently funds the worldwide development of all of its products while providing expertise in pre-clinical and clinical trials, manufacturing, drug delivery and formulation, and regulatory affairs.

For more information on Debiopharm Group™, please visit: www.debiopharm.com.

About Aurigene
Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited is a Bangalore-based biotech focused on collaborative drug discovery with pharmaceutical and biotech companies on a risk-sharing basis. Aurigene has fully integrated drug discovery infrastructure, from Target to IND, along with strong in house structural biology and fragment based drug design capabilities. The company is engaged in over 20 discovery collaborations with US and European large and mid-pharma companies in Oncology, Inflammatory disorders and anti-infectives.
For more information on Aurigene, please visit: www.aurigene.com.

Debiopharm S.A. Contact:
Maurice Wagner
Director Corporate Affairs & Communication
Tel.: +41 (0)21 321 01 11
Fax : +41 (0)21 321 01 69
mwagner@debiopharm.com

Additional Media Contacts:
In London
Maitland
Brian Hudspith
Tel.: +44 (0)20 7379 5151
bhudspith@maitland.co.uk

In New York
Russo Partners, LLC
Martina Schwarzkopf
Tel. +1-212-845-4292
Fax +1-212-845-4260
martina.schwarzkopf@russopartnersllc.com

Aurigene Contact:
Karthikeyan Ramakrishnan
Project Manager
Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited
Tel. +91-80-66204338
karthikeyan_r@aurigene.com

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Established in Bangalore, India, in 2002, Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd. is a drug discovery biotech with a proven track record of successful partnerships with big and medium-sized pharma and biotech companies globally. Aurigene has 10 drug discovery collaborations and a pipeline of 16 discovery programs at various stages, from Hit Generation to late-stage Pre-Clinical Optimization, and has filed 16 patents across 6 programs. With proprietary Structural Biology and Fragment-based Drug Design technology platforms, and experienced scientific leadership, Aurigene is a fully integrated Drug Discovery company focused on Oncology, Inflammation and Metabolic Disorders.
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