Euroscreen Expands its Drug Development Collaboration with Cephalon

Euroscreen announced that it has expanded its agreement with Cephalon, Inc. to focus on drug development for a specific target of interest to Cephalon. In 2004, Euroscreen and Cephalon initiated their collaboration to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics focused upon central nervous system diseases and targeting G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCR), a family of receptors that play a major role in cell signaling.

Brussels, Belgium (PRWEB) November 8, 2008 -- Euroscreen announced that it has expanded its agreement with Cephalon, Inc. to focus on drug development for a specific target of interest to Cephalon. In 2004, Euroscreen and Cephalon initiated their collaboration to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics focused upon central nervous system diseases and targeting G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCR), a family of receptors that play a major role in cell signaling.

Under the updated terms of the agreement, Euroscreen will receive R&D payments, milestone payments and royalties for successful programs that result from this collaboration, which will continue through 2009.

"This relationship with Cephalon has become a significant drug development partnership to advance a preclinical candidate for their pipeline, and evidences the positive relationship and our deliverables to date," said Jean Combalbert, President & CEO of Euroscreen. "In addition to our past two years refocusing on our own internal drug discovery programs, this partnership is a key element of value creation for Euroscreen's future."

"We are pleased to focus this collaboration on a specific, preclinical, drug development program with Euroscreen to further enhance and complement our drug discovery pipeline," said Mike Williams, Vice President, Discovery Research of Cephalon.

For further licensing Information, please contact:

Euroscreen S.A.
Tel: +32 71 348 500 email:
LicensingBD@euroscreen.com

Jean Combalbert, Ph.D.      Al Gray, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer      Director, Business Development

About Euroscreen S.A.
Euroscreen, a privately held company based in Brussels, Belgium, is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery, development and partnering of small molecule drugs for unmet medical needs. Euroscreen is developing a pipeline of compounds targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) using over 13 years of experience in research and commercialization of this critical class of drug targets. Initially, Euroscreen was a spin-off company of the "Université Libre de Bruxelles" based on GPCR reagent development and commercialization. Euroscreen is now developing drugs on internal targets such as CCR5 as well as several preclinical-stage collaborations with partners.

The Company has developed a broad target portfolio for licensing to biopharmaceutical companies. Such patents address GPCRs such as CCR5, Chemerin receptor, GPR43, GPR7/8, ORL1-R, FPRL2, purinergic receptors (P2Y4, P2Y11 and P2Y13) and SHIP2 for type II diabetes. Euroscreen is able to offer intellectual property rights to companies for the development of therapeutic drugs that act through these targets.

Euroscreen pursues a dual platform strategy of combining its internal drug discovery programs with its fully dedicated Custom Screening Business Unit (EUROSCREEN FAST), providing GPCR customized screening and other services for biotech and pharmaceutical companies around the world. The company has research and licensing partnerships with Alchemia, AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Cephalon, GNF, Grunenthal, HGS, ICOS, Medarex, Monogram Biosciences, Novartis and Pfizer.
(www.euroscreen.com)

About Cephalon, Inc.
Founded in 1987, Cephalon, Inc. is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative products. Cephalon is a leader in the discovery and development of products to treat central nervous system and oncologic disorders. The company's scientific exploration has led to the creation of new chemical entities focused on GPCR's and cell signaling pathways that are involved in the pathogenesis of disease.

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