Aarhus-based Biotech Company develops new rheumatoid arthritis therapy

Århus, Nov 28, 2008

Cytoguide, a new biotech company at the University of Aarhus, has obtained an investment of DKK 14 million from a group comprised of four Danish and Swedish investors. The funding will support Cytoguide in taking its unique combinatory drug therapy for the treatment of arthritis forward into the pre-clinical phase.

With this investment, Cytoguide, which is located in Incuba Science Park in Aarhus, announces its arrival as a player in the billion-dollar, rapidly growing global market for the medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Cytoguide's new product has the potential to maximise the effectiveness of a well-known arthritis treatment while drastically minimising its side effects. Medical treatment of arthritis is often a double-edged sword in that side effects can limit the scope of treatment.

The product concept has done more than just convince the four investors - Novo A/S, Oestjysk Innovation, Karolinska Development, and Lund University Bioscience - of Cytoguide's potential. The European Union has also donated DKK 18 million to Professor Søren Moestrup's team of scientists at the University of Aarhus - funds that are earmarked for scientific research into the possibilities of using the technology behind the product in other areas of medical treatment.

"Side effects are the biggest hindrance to the use of a large number of drug therapies. If our concept proves correct, the new arthritis therapy may greatly reduce the side effects associated with the active compound while releasing its efficacy to the benefit of patients," explains Professor Søren Moestrup, who founded Cytoguide along with Jonas Graversen and Holger Jon Møller.

Søren Moestrup and Jonas Graversen are experienced members of the Danish biotech community. They were the founders of ProteoPharma, a biotech company acquired by Borean Pharma, which consequently sold ProteoPharma's drug candidate for the treatment of atherosclerosis to Roche in Basel.

Potential blockbuster drug

Cytoguide's patented technology builds on the discovery of an important receptor molecule in the macrophage, the cell type in the immune system that causes arthritic inflammation.

"By targeting the specific receptor, the drug is directed into the macrophage where it can work to counteract the inflammation process. This will ensure efficient uptake of the drug exactly where it is needed, providing a high level of efficacy with relatively few side effects," states Professor Moestrup.

"The existing - and extremely expensive - biological drugs in rheumatoid arthritis represent a major advance in therapy but they but they cannot stand alone because of side effects and development of resistance. If our technology is effective, we will be positioned to introduce a new treatment option for a serious and disabling illness that affects millions of patients around the world," Professor Moestrup explains.

Strong investor consortium

The latest investment will allow Cytoguide to take the new product to the pre-clinical phase over the next 18 months. Once this milestone has been reached it takes at least 6 years for a new product to reach the market.

Cytoguide is backed by a strong investor consortium:

"It has proved extremely important for us to have the support of a strong and diverse group of investors specialising in early-stage biotech investment. They provide us with indispensible experience in this area and will participate in the next investment round if research proceeds according to plan. This increases our chances of success in what is currently a difficult period for the biotech industry," says Professor Moestrup.

In November 2007 Cytoguide was the first biotech company in Denmark to receive a DKK 1.5 million grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation via the Novo Seeds pre-seed program. The funds represented an opportunity for the company founders to develop Cytoguide to attract further investment.

For further information about Cytoguide:

Professor Søren Moestrup, CEO. E-mail: skm@cytoguide.dk; Tel.: +45 2899 2282

For further information about the investors:

Thomas Andersson, Lund University Bioscience AB, Tel.: +46 (0)70 287 00 15, E-mail: thomas@lubio.se

Hans-Peter Ekre, Karolinska Development AB, Tel.: +46 (0)8 524 838 96, E-mail: hans-peter.ekre@karolinskadevelopment.com

Jørn Falch, Oestjysk Innovation, Tel.: +45 8620 5065, E-mail jf@oei.dk

Henrijette Richter, Novo A/S, Tel.: +45 3079 4545, E-mail: heri@novo.dk