PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Ipsen (Euronext: IPN, ADR: IPSEY) announced today that it has initiated a research and development collaboration on novel engineered botulinum toxins with Harvard Medical School (Harvard).
Under the terms of the agreement, Ipsen will fund Harvard research for at least three years with the aim to discover, evaluate and develop novel engineered recombinant botulinum toxins for the treatment of serious neurologic diseases.
The collaboration will combine Harvard’s discovery platform and botulinum toxins engineering expertise with Ipsen’s know-how in drug discovery and pharmaceutical R&D.
Ipsen will have exclusive worldwide rights on any candidate recombinant toxin stemming from the collaboration. Ipsen will be responsible for the development and marketing of the new toxins and will make associated upfront, milestones and royalty payments to Harvard.
Claude Bertrand, Executive Vice president R&D, Chief Scientific Officer at Ipsen added: “Ipsen is very pleased to combine its expertise with such a renowned research institution as Harvard. This collaboration further strengthens Ipsen’s position in biotechnology as a major player focused on the discovery and development of therapeutic toxins to provide innovative therapies for patients with serious neurologic disorders.”
“Our collaboration with Ipsen to discover novel engineered botulinum toxins will greatly facilitate our research efforts to potentially bring novel therapeutics to the benefit of patients suffering from highly debilitating conditions,” said Dr. Min Dong, Instructor in Microbiology and Immunobiology at the New England Primate Research Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology of Harvard Medical School.
About Harvard University’s office of technology development
Harvard's Office of Technology Development (OTD) is responsible for all activities pertaining to the evaluation, patenting and licensing of new inventions and discoveries made at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. OTD also serves to further the development of Harvard technologies through the establishment of sponsored research collaborations with industry. OTD's mission is to promote the public good by fostering innovation and translating new inventions made at Harvard into useful products available and beneficial to society.
About Ipsen
Ipsen is a global specialty-driven pharmaceutical company with total turnover exceeding €1.27 billion in 2012. Ipsen’s ambition is to become a leader in specialty healthcare solutions for targeted debilitating diseases. Its development strategy is supported by three franchises: neurology / Dysport®, endocrinology / Somatuline® and uro-oncology / Decapeptyl®. Moreover, the Group has an active policy of partnerships. Ipsen's R&D is focused on its innovative and differentiated technological platforms, peptides and toxins. In 2012, R&D expenditure totaled close to €250 million, above 20% of Group sales. The Group has total worldwide staff of close to 4,900 employees. Ipsen’s shares are traded on segment A of Euronext Paris (stock code: IPN, ISIN code: FR0010259150) and eligible to the “Service de Règlement Différé” (“SRD”). The Group is part of the SBF 120 index. Ipsen has implemented a Sponsored Level I American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program, which trade on the over-the-counter market in the United States under the symbol IPSEY. For more information on Ipsen, visit www.ipsen.com.
Ipsen’s Forward Looking Statement
The forward-looking statements, objectives and targets contained herein are based on the Group’s management strategy, current views and assumptions. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated herein. All of the above risks could affect the Group’s future ability to achieve its financial targets, which were set assuming reasonable macroeconomic conditions based on the information available today. Moreover, the targets described in this document were prepared without taking into account external growth assumptions and potential future acquisitions, which may alter these parameters. These objectives are based on data and assumptions regarded as reasonable by the Group. These targets depend on conditions or facts likely to happen in the future, and not exclusively on historical data. Actual results may depart significantly from these targets given the occurrence of certain risks and uncertainties, notably the fact that a promising product in early development phase or clinical trial may end up never being launched on the 3/3market or reaching its commercial targets, notably for regulatory or competition reasons. The Group must face or might face competition from Generics that might translate into loss of market shares. Furthermore, the Research and Development process involves several stages each of which involve the substantial risk that the Group may fail to achieve its objectives and be forced to abandon its efforts with regards to a product in which it has invested significant sums. Therefore, the Group cannot be certain that favorable results obtained during pre-clinical trials will be confirmed subsequently during clinical trials, or that the results of clinical trials will be sufficient to demonstrate the safe and effective nature of the product concerned. The Group also depends on third parties to develop and market some of its products which could potentially generate substantial royalties; these partners could behave in such ways which could cause damage to the Group’s activities and financial results. The Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward looking statements, targets or estimates contained in this press release to reflect any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, unless so required by applicable law. The Group’s business is subject to the risk factors outlined in its registration documents filed with the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
