Origenis receives grant to develop new diagnostic tools for the treatment of neurodegenerative . . .

February 28, 2012

Origenis receives grant to develop new diagnostic tools for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Martinsried, Germany, February 28, 2012 - Origenis has started the development of biomarkers to complement the preclinical in-house development of its therapeutic small molecule inhibitors acting on LRRK2. LRRK2 inhibitors are expected to be useful for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The objective of this biomarker program is the development of fluorine labelled, LRRK2 specific, CNS penetrating compounds that will be used to visualize the disease progression in animal Parkinson’s models. Origenis receives a two-years-grant from the Leading-Edge Cluster program “m4 – Personalized Medicine and Targeted Therapies”. -ends- Notes Origenis GmbH (www.origenis.com) Origenis is a leader in small molecule drug discovery with over 14 years of experience in the field. Origenis is a privately owned company based in Martinsried, Germany.

Origenis runs its own patented Drug Discovery platform MOREsystem®. The unique platform combines state-of-the-art drug design, patent analysis, chemical synthesis and biological characterization performed in an integrated manner on 20.000 square feet of integrated lab space. Origenis runs research alliances as well as active in-house programs. Origenis is currently focusing on anti-inflammatory and CNS drugs. Origenis is offering a variety of out-licensing opportunities. Leading-Edge Cluster program m4 (www.m4.de) The project is funded by the program “m4 – Personalized Medicine and Targeted Therapies” for which the Munich Biotech Cluster was awarded “Leading-Edge cluster status” by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF) in 2010.

For a 5 year period, the program is funded with EUR 40 million from the BMBF, which are complemented by EUR 40 million from the participating companies in more than 40 cooperative R&D projects from industry and scientific institutions. The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology supports the cluster management agency BioM and particular components of the concept with an additional EUR 12 million.