MEMORY PHARMACEUTICALS ACQUIRES RIGHTS FROM BAYER TO A PROMISING DRUG CANDIDATE FOR DEMENTIA
Montvale, NJ, September 11, 2001 -- Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp., a privately held drug development company working in the field of learning and memory disorders, announced today that it has signed a license agreement with Bayer AG for the rights to commercialize and market MEM 1003, a new-generation drug candidate to treat dementia. The novel drug candidate belongs to the class of neuronal calcium channel modulators that aims at down-regulating pathologically elevated intracellular calcium levels indicated in various neurological disorders such as vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Memory Pharmaceuticals is developing a diverse pipeline of cognition enhancers, or memory-enhancing drugs, using its proprietary technology platform, which is based on intellectual property discovered by Nobel Laureate, Eric Kandel, M.D., the scientific founder of the company.
Memory Pharmaceuticals' rights under the license with Bayer are exclusive and worldwide, including the right to grant sublicenses. In consideration of the license, the company has agreed to pay Bayer royalties, upfront and milestone payments. Specific financial terms were not disclosed.
"Bayer's new-generation neuronal calcium channel modulator has shown great potential for the treatment of dementia," said Tony Scullion, CEO of Memory Pharmaceuticals. "The acquisition of rights to MEM1003 represents a significant milestone for the company as we advance our strategy to in-license and develop promising compounds in the fields of memory and cognition."
"We are pleased that Memory Pharmaceuticals will develop MEM 1003 for this important indication with major unmet needs. This is an example of Bayer's strategy to capitalize on our strong research platform by forming partnerships with other companies committed to similar goals," said Dr. David Ebsworth, General Manager of Bayer AG's Pharmaceuticals Business Group.
Calcium plays a key role in neuronal signaling pathways involved in learning and memory, a phenomenon called long term potentiation (LTP). While certain intracellular calcium levels are essential for proper functioning, elevated calcium levels can be harmful and ultimately lead to cell death. The pharmacological principle of this new-generation calcium channel modulator is to regulate elevated intracellular calcium levels back to normal physiological levels to restore proper functioning and to protect neurons from calcium overload, which has been noted in various neurological diseases like VaD and AD.
Memory Pharmaceuticals discovers and develops memory-enhancing drugs known as cognition enhancers. Based on intellectual property developed by Nobel Laureate, Eric Kandel, M.D., the company's proprietary COGNOSTICST technology platform consists of an array of state-of-the-art bioassays that evaluate the cell biological, physiological and behavioral aspects of drug effects within relevant memory pathways. Memory Pharmaceuticals applies its COGNOSTICS technology to target validation, chemical hit and lead identification, lead optimization and nomination of clinical development candidates. Memory Pharmaceuticals has developed a diverse pipeline of drug discovery programs at various stages of research and development, based on in-house discovery efforts and in-licensing of preclinical and clinical development candidates.
Bayer is an international, research-based group with major businesses in health care, agriculture, polymers and specialty chemicals. Employing some 120,000 people worldwide, the group has operations in nearly all countries of the globe. Bayer's four business segments - Health Care, Agriculture, Polymers and Chemicals - are subdivided into16 business groups, each with global responsibility for the success and growth of their operations. For 2000 the group recorded a group net profit of 1.8 billion euros on sales of 31 billion euros. Capital expenditures totaled 2.6 billion euros in 2000 and 2.4 billion euros were invested in research and development.