Press Release

MP reaches all research milestones in collaboration

Molecular Partners AG, pioneer in the development of DARPins, a novel class of therapeutic proteins, announced today that it has reached all milestones of the research phase earlier than anticipated in its ongoing collaboration with Centocor Research & Development, Inc. High potency DARPin antagonists to multiple targets were successfully selected and characterized by Molecular Partners and Centocor Inc.

In January 2008, Molecular Partners announced an agreement with Centocor, Inc. to develop innovative therapies for the treatment of various diseases with Molecular Partners being responsible for the identification of DARPins.

“We are very pleased with the rapid progress of this collaboration”, commented Christian Zahnd, CEO of Molecular Partners. “This is a significant step forward in our strategy to strengthen our proprietary pipeline with selected partnered compounds.”

Upon entering into the alliance, Molecular Partners had received an upfront payment. The company is also eligible for additional research funding and milestone payments. In addition, Molecular Partners is entitled to receive royalties on future sales of any product from this collaboration.

“The ability to rapidly deliver lead DARPins to Centocor targets with high potency is an excellent showcase of the robustness and power of the DARPin platform,” added Patrick Amstutz, CBO of Molecular Partners.