ASIANET: Novirio and Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Announce Agreement for Hepatitis B Drug

Novirio Grants Sumitomo Commercial Rights for Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan and China

Novirio Pharmaceuticals Limited today announced it has entered into an agreement with Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. of Osaka, Japan for the commercialization of Novirio's proprietary product, LdT, a nucleoside for the treatment of hepatitis B infection.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sumitomo will co-develop and market LdT in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China in exchange for up front and milestone payments in the aggregate amount of $46 million, sharing of global development costs plus royalties on the sale of the product in the agreed territories. Novirio retains all development and commercial rights to LdT for the rest of the world and intends to build its own sales and marketing infrastructure in North America and Europe to support the commercialization of LdT and subsequent Novirio product launches.

According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 350 million chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections worldwide. HBV infection and related complications result in up to 2 million deaths each year making it the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. The territories for which Sumitomo has licensed LdT represent approximately one-third of all chronic HBV infections.

"We are very pleased to partner with Sumitomo, a premier developer and marketer of hepatitis therapeutics in Japan," said Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Novirio. "Sumitomo markets the leading hepatitis C treatment in Japan and has extended its drug development and marketing efforts to other key Asian markets. We expect that this partnership will rapidly bring a highly potent treatment for hepatitis B to a region of the world where the unmet medical need is among the greatest."

Preliminary data from a phase I/II study of LdT were recently presented at scientific conferences and demonstrated high potency, no drug-related side effects and pharmacology that will allow once daily dosing. Further LdT clinical data will be presented at conferences this fall and the initiation of phase III pivotal trials is anticipated in the first half of 2002.

"Novirio has developed a strong presence in antiviral drug discovery and development," said Masaaki Yokotsuka, President of Sumitomo. "We are impressed with the results of LdT clinical trials and the efficiency with which Novirio has executed such trials. We believe LdT will be a major addition to Sumitomo's product portfolio and an important new treatment for patients infected with hepatitis B."

About Novirio Pharmaceuticals:

Novirio Pharmaceuticals Limited, together with its affiliates is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative treatments for life-threatening viral diseases. The Company's drug discovery operations are conducted in Montpellier, France and Cagliari, Italy, and its clinical development, business development and marketing operations are currently conducted from offices maintained in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Company's principal disease targets are hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV/AIDS. In addition to LdT, Novirio's other drug candidates include LdC for the treatment of HBV, presently in phase I/II clinical evaluation, and several clinical candidates for the treatment of HCV and HIV/AIDS, presently in late-stage preclinical evaluation. Novirio's programs focus on the development of drug candidates, which individually or as part of combination therapy, will offer significant improvements over currently approved treatments. During the second quarter of 2001, Novirio successfully completed a $44 million private equity placement, one of the largest rounds of equity financing raised by a private biopharmaceutical company this year.

About Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.:

Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. was established through a merger of the pharmaceuticals divisions of Sumitomo Chemicals Co., Ltd. and Inabata & Co. in 1984 and now possesses integrated functions in research, development, manufacturing, and sales of pharmaceuticals. Its research and development activities have greatly expanded in scope by adding state-of-the-art biotechnology to the sophisticated chemical synthesis technology. Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals now occupies a strong position in the Japanese drug market and is marketing several important drugs including Sumiferon, Japan's best selling interferon-alfa product, and Meropen, the world first carabapenem antibiotic without stabilizing agent. Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals is engaged in the development and marketing of pharmaceuticals products in Asian countries and operates two wholly owned subsidiaries, one in the UK (Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals UK Limited) and one in the USA (Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals America), responsible for research and development in each territory.

Editor's Note: This release is available at http://www.novirio.com, http://www.sumitomopharma.com and http://www.noonanrusso.com.

Novirio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Noonan/Russo Communications, Inc.

617-250-3116 212-696-4455

David Franklin Amy Martini (investor) ext. 255

Exec. Director, Marketing & Shirley Johnson (media) ext. 260

Corporate Communications

SOURCE: Novirio Pharmaceuticals Limited

CONTACT: David Franklin, Exec. Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications of Novirio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 617-250-3116; investor - Amy Martini, 212-696-4455, ext. 255, or media - Shirley Johnson, 212-696-4455, ext. 260, both of Noonan-Russo Communications, Inc., for Novirio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Web site: http://www.noonanrusso.com

http://www.novirio.com

http://www.sumitomopharma.com

• ข่าวNovirio Pharmaceuticals
• ข่าวHepatitis B
• ข่าวo:heal
• ข่าวo:asn
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