Glycodesign and Leo Pharmaceutical Products to collaborate on cardiovascular drug discovery

GLYCODesign Inc. (GD; Toronto) has entered into a joint venture with Leo Pharmaceutical Products Ltd. (Denmark) to develop novel drug candidates for the treatment of selected cardiovascular diseases. During the initial three-year term of the collaboration, GD and Leo will combine their respective strengths in cardiovascular research and the manufacture of drugs based on glycosylaminoglycans (GAGs) to accelerate the development of three cardiovascular compounds into the clinic.

Three potential drug candidates will be developed to treat cardiovascular diseases such as the treatment and prevention of both arterial and venous thrombosis. The goal of the collaboration is to develop drugs that are more effective and potentially safer than cardiovascular drugs currently available, such as low molecular weight heparin. Clinical trials are planned for 2001.

Under the terms of the agreement, GD and Leo will equally share the costs of the pre-clinical and initial clinical development of compounds up to Phase II trials. Leo has been granted an exclusive option to commercialize drug candidates from this collaboration in Europe and Canada. GD and Leo are actively seeking a third party pharmaceutical company to complete the later-stage development of drug candidates developed during the collaboration and to market them outside Europe and Canada.

"We are excited to be working with a prominent international pharmaceutical company such as Leo. By combining Leo's expertise in the modification of glycosylaminoglycans and their manufacture with GD's research and clinical leadership in thromboembolitic diseases, we will expedite the development of much needed improved cardiovascular drugs," said Jeremy Carver, president and CEO, GLYCODesign.

"In addition, this collaboration will substantially increase the value of our pipeline by adding new promising cardiovascular compounds ready to enter the clinic in 2001." Ernst Lunding, president and CEO of Leo, added, "We are very pleased to have the chance to work with GLYCODesign and their Vice President Cardiovascular Research, Dr. Jack Hirsh, a world renowned leader, researcher in thromboembolic diseases to develop new cardiovascular drugs. This collaboration will continue to build on Leo's historic commitment to develop treatments for thromboembolic disorders, and brings us one step closer to our goal of becoming one of the world's leading companies in the anti-thrombotic market."

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world today and will remain so for the next 20 years. In the U.S alone, one in three men and one in ten women can expect to develop some major cardiovascular disease before the age of 60. The economic cost of cardiovascular diseases is estimated to be $326.6 billion in the US alone. Current cardiovascular drugs are efficient and relatively safe, but despite this there is a strong need for more effective, safe cardiovascular therapies.

"This collaboration holds great promise for new and improved cardiovascular drugs given the extraordinary ingenuity of Dr. Hirsh's research into the mechanisms of thrombus formation and the importance of these underlying processes in cardiovascular diseases," said John Evans, GLYCODesign board member.

Leo Pharmaceutical Products Ltd. is a wholly foundation owned company based in Denmark that engages in the development of treatments for thromoboembolic disorders, and is a major producer of heparin. Leo maintains its own integrated manufacturing from animal tissue extraction to finished product. Through its licensing partner, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, Leo has recently received FDA approval for Innohep a low-molecular-weight heparin used for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism that has been marketed by Leo in Europe over the last decade.

GLYCODesign Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and delivers innovative therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic inflammation, and infectious diseases. Using its expertise in glycobiology, GLYCODesign has assembled 10 drugs at various stages of development. GD conducts its cardiovascular research at the Hamilton Civic Hospitals Research Centre (Hamilton, ON, Canada), a state of the art cardiovascular research facility run by Gairdner Award winner Jack Hirsh.

For more information, contact Julie Dzerowicz of GLYCODesign at 416-593-7436 or 416-593-6027, ext. 285.

Edited by Laura DeFrancesco
Managing Editor, Bioresearch Online