Bio Screening Industry News

Gif-sur-Yvette (France), February 28th, 2006 - CYTOMICS SYSTEMS, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery of small molecules that control the degradation of proteins, announced today that it has raised € 10 million (USD 11,9 million) in a 2nd round of financing from a group of investors led by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and Truffle Venture. Société Générale Asset Management Alternative Investments (SGAM AI), investor of the Company since 2003, also supported this financing round. Aelios Finance acted as financial advisor on behalf of the Company.

This round will enable the company to accelerate the development of its most advanced antifungal compounds – which recently generated positive preclinical results.

CYTOMICS SYSTEMS will also initiate preclinical studies in a second program based on compounds that inhibit the in-vitro proliferation of human cancer cells. These molecules represent a new generation of proteasome inhibitors for the development of new therapies against cancer.

Following this fund raising, CYTOMICS SYSTEMS is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr John J. THEBAULT to the newly created position of Director of Clinical Research. Dr THEBAULT contributes extensive international experience as the founder and manager for over 20 years of Aster Cephac, a leading European CRO specialised in early-stage clinical studies.

Leveraging research conducted at CNRS, CYTOMICS SYSTEMS is utilizing UbiScreen®, a proprietary cell-based high-throughput screening technology to discover drugs controlling protein turnover by the Ubiquitin Proteasome pathway. This pathway is involved in many diseases such as cancer, fungal infections, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

Dominique THOMAS, CEO of CYTOMICS SYSTEMS said: « We are delighted to welcome a syndicate of leading investors. This confirms the superior potential of the Company and validates the financial support of SGAM AI since the first round in 2003. CYTOMICS SYSTEMS is now in a position to achieve major milestones in the promising field of hospital-acquired fungal infections and to establish itself in the field of oncology where we believe we can deliver significant therapeutic advances ».

Gilles NOBECOURT, Life Sciences Partner at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, commented: « Thanks to the solid knowledge accumulated by the Company in the field of the Ubitquitine-Proteasome, its innovative cell-based screening platform and a rigorous approach we are convinced their expertise has significant chances to lead to novel therapeutics addressing unmet medical needs ».

Dr Philippe POULETTY, General Partner Biotech at Truffle Venture added: « CYTOMICS has a uniques profile for an early-stage company encompassing: an innovative technology, a promising product under development addressing a major medical indication, and an experienced management team. The main goal of the Company will be to make the clinical development of its first drug a success».

As a result of this second-round financing, Dr. THEBAULT is appointed President of the Supervisory Board. Dr Phillipe POULETTY will act as its Vice-President. Dr Béatrice LLIRBAT (SGAM AI), Dr Denis GAUVREAU and Gilles NOBECOURT complete the Supervisory Board.

About Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners manages over € 500 million dedicated to venture capital and capital growth investments. The investment team is made up of 9 professionals based in Paris. Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners manages FCPR and FCPI capital growth and life science venture funds.

About Truffle Venture
Founded in 2002 and based in Paris, Truffle Venture is an independent venture capital firm managing several funds (Truffle Venture FCPR, Europe Innovation and UFF5 FCPIs) focusing on technology spin-offs, IT, healthcare, biotech and energy businesses throughout Europe. Truffle Venture also manages the Longchamp fund through a partnership with Merril Lynch. Truffle Venture currently manages over € 200 million of assets.

About SGAM Alternative Investments
With € 36 billion in assets under management on 31 December 2005, 268 employees worldwide and the strategic and financial backing of Société Générale Group, SGAM Alternative Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Société Générale Asset Management, has become one of the leading global specialists in alternative investment. SGAM AI launched its private equity platform in 1999 and today offers a comprehensive range of funds with € 1.2 billion under management. Building on its Life Sciences expertise the “Bioconvergence” team manages an international portfolio of 40 companies, representing investments worth € 125 million.

About Cytomics Systems
Cytomics Systems, Gif-sur-Yvette, France, is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of drugs that control the degradation of proteins, to treat major human diseases such as cancer and hospital-acquired fungal infections.
The Company was founded by Dominique Thomas, PhD, Director of Research at the CNRS Center for Molecular Genetics, and internationally recognized for his work in the field of the Ubiquitin-Proteasome pathway for protein degradation. The Company has developed an innovative high-throughput screening technology, UbiScreen®, for the discovery of new therapeutic molecules controlling the degradation of target proteins. Cytomics has used this technology to target fungal hospital-acquired infections with compounds at the preclinical stage. Another drug development program in the field of oncology has led to the selection of very promising molecules.
The company is based in Gif-sur-Yvette (France) and has 15 employees. Professor Axel Khan heads its Scientific Advisory Board.

- ENDS -

Contacts

CYTOMICS Systems :
Dominique THOMAS, CEO
Erwan MARTIN, CFO
Tél. : +33 (0)1 69 82 42 66

MILESTONES – Press Relations
Bruno ARABIAN
Tél. : +33 (0)1 70 08 04 13 / +33 (0)6 87 88 47 26

For more information, please contact:
Dominique Thomas
CYTOMICS
5 avenue de la Terrasse

GIF SUR YVETTE
France
91190
France

Telephone: +33 (0)1 69 82 42 66
Fax:
Web: www.cytomics.fr

27th & 28th February 2006, Grange Holborn Hotel, London Sponsored by: Chemical Computing Group, Accelrys, Simulations Plus, Coalesix & MicroCal Supported by: HTScreening.net, Combichem.net, Admet.net, Journal of Drug Targeting, Drug Discovery Today, Pharmafocus, Pharmafile, Inpharma.com, DrugResearcher.com and Taylor & Francis

This event will address how both the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries can identify early failures whilst increasing the number of potential hits quicker and faster with new techniques being made available.

Benefits of Attending:

- Structure-based Drug Design: Hear about all areas of SBDD including structure-based lead generation and optimisation, as well as rational drug design techniques and how and when to use them

- Virtual Screening: Learn the different techniques available, improvements being made in hit-to-lead and the effectiveness of different screening methods. Discover new ways of identifying drugable targets and flaws in current chemotype approaches

- Pharmacognosy: Gain knowledge from industry experts on how to incorporate natural products into drug discovery and design

- Computational Drug Design: Understand the application methods specific to protein-ligand groups and their performance, whilst gaining insight into finding and exploiting local QSAR

- Data Analysis and Library Design: See examples of risk management for productivity and attrition, integration of NMR and identifying and choosing the right leads

- Networking Opportunities: Meet the leaders in the field, make valuable contacts and learn from their experience and expertise

Hear from leading industry experts including:

- Dr Joseph Bolen, Senior Vice President, Discovery, Millennium
- Dr Jeffrey Wiseman, Vice President & Officer, Technology & Informatics, Locus Pharmaceuticals
- Dr Jonathan Mason, Executive Director, Medicinal Informatics Structure & Design, Pfizer
- Dr Alexander Alex, Director, Pfizer
- Dr Michael Hennig, Vice Director, Molecular Structure Research, F. Hoffmann-La Roche
- Dr Philip Jewsbury, Associate Director, Computational Chemistry, AstraZeneca
- Dr Peter Hunt, Research Fellow, Merck, Sharp & Dohme

PLUS A HALF-DAY POST-CONFERENCE EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
NMR Fragment Screening: Techniques & Applications
1st March 2006, Grange Holborn Hotel, London
In association with: CombiNature

To view the programme online visit: http://www.smi-online.co.uk/goto/drugdesignv.asp?emref=T19EL231063506

Offers are also available for group bookings, contact Anthony Bennett on
tel: +44 (0)20 7827 6720 or mailto:abennett@smi-online.co.uk

For immediate release:

Agenda for “Advances in Functional Genomics” conference agenda released

Select Biosciences are delighted to announce the inaugural conference dedicated to Advances in Functional Genomics will be held on the 25-26 April in South San Francisco. Many of the top investigators within the various disciplines comprising functional genomics will be presenting their latest cutting edge work. This will provide a unique opportunity to delegates to network with the most senior researchers in the field.

Agenda sessions include:

- Personalized medicine

Keynote Speaker: K. K. Jain, CEO, Jain Pharmatech

- Gene silencing / RNAi

Keynote Speaker: John J. Rossi, Director, City of Hope National Medical Center

- Metabolomics

Keynote speaker: Chris Beecher, VP, Metabolon

- New Technologies for Functional Genomics Keynote speaker: Dr. Victor Levenson, Research Associate Professor, Northwestern University

For the full downloadable agenda (pdf) please visit www.GenomicsAdvances.com

Selected media partnerships are available for this event. For further information contact: Karen Saunders (ksaunders@selectbiosciences.com )

About Select Biosciences

www.SelectBiosciences.com

Select Biosciences Ltd. is focused on organizing specialist biomedical meetings. Experts from both academia and commerce present timely information from current research through to commercial implementation of new technologies.

Gilson announces the release of the Pipetman Concept® 8×300 and 12×300 electronic multichannel pipettes. The Pipetman Concept® x300 is an exceptional combination of quality with high usability and comfort. This product launch marks the first multichannel pipettes to be released from the Pipetman Concept product line.

The patented, multifunction thumbwheel ensures a fast and convenient way to set the volume, navigate and select menu options. In addition to its distinctive Pipetting features, the Pipetman Concept® x300 incorporates a one-of-a-kind connection to your PC via USB port. The Utility Software gives the users the ability to create custom operating modes on his or her computer, and transfer them to the pipette; a great feature to speed up today’s complex Pipetting tasks. The Utility Software also allows the user to check and modify the pipette parameters in addition to creating maintenance reports.

The ergonomic design of the body handle addresses users’ concern for Repetitive Strain Injuries while the exclusive Gilson Forceless Integrated Tip Ejection System™ (G-F.I.T.) provides instant, reliable seals with low tip ejection forces. The G-F.I.T. System is based on a special stepped design of the tip-holders as apposed to the conventional conical design. Fitting a tip produces two small contact areas between the tip-holders and the tips. The first ridge creates a ring-shaped contact area that focuses the seal force on a very small area, and in turn, provides an efficient air-tight seal. The second works as a guide and a stop to prevent over-insertion of the tip-holder into the tip. The G-F.I.T. System is compatible with most standard tips.

The Pipetman Concept multichannel x300 is available in 8- and 12-channel models, and covers a volume range of 20µL to 300µL.

Gilson®, Inc., a leader in preparative HPLC, manufactures high-quality dependable liquid chromatography and automated liquid handling instruments to meet the needs of today’s scientist. Product lines include a full range of HPLC systems - from nano to preparative - as well as high-throughput robotic workstations and software solutions. For More information about Gilson, Inc. products or services, visit www.gilson.com.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ — Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leader in the expanding fields of toxico- and chemogenomics, today named Cate Sabatini to the position of executive vice president, Business Development. Ms Sabatini has extensive life science experience with an academic background in computer science and a career focus in the bioinformatics sector. At Iconix she will drive the commercial activities of the company as it continues to support current partners and attract new biopharmaceutical clients for its pioneering DrugMatrix and other products that enable early toxicology screening of drug compounds.

Ms Sabatini’s background includes positions with Incyte where she was the director of product development and delivered the first genomic microbial database product, PathoSeq from concept to release in three months. Later, as vice president, Customer Relations she was responsible for account management, scientific and technical services and customer support. Prior to Incyte, Ms Sabatini was the manager of Information Systems at LSI Logic and a project manager for Clinical Systems at Syntex (Roche Group) where she helped design the industry leading clinical trials application, Oracle Clinical and validated clinical trials applications to ensure compliance with GLP, GMP, GCP and FDA and EC requirements.

Additionally, Ms Sabatini founded and lead Athena Consulting, where she focused on working with life science companies including: Genentech, Applera, Iconix and Align Technology in the areas of strategic planning, business development and sales and marketing.

“We are delighted to have Cate join Iconix and bring her notable commercial skills to the company,” said Jim Neal, CEO, Iconix Pharmaceuticals. “With her background, Cate will add a depth and breadth of experience to multiple areas including product development and business relations to help ensure we are delivering to meet the high-performance needs of our toxicology customers.”

About Iconix:

Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is pioneering the new fields of toxico- and chemogenomics, the integration of chemistry and genomics to profile drug candidates. Iconix’s technologies enable pharmaceutical companies to increase the odds of advancing the right compounds to the clinic, reducing attrition rates and the costs of drug discovery. Iconix provides reference systems and know-how to predict toxic liabilities, side effects and mechanisms of action for drug candidates. The company has collaborations with Bristol Myers Squibb, Abbott Laboratories, ICOS, Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP - News), AstraZeneca, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd. and other leading companies. Iconix also provides research, training and support to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) under an agreement to advance CDER’s study of the application of genomic technologies in the regulatory approval process. Iconix’s DrugMatrix system has been installed at the FDA for use by CDER scientists and reviewers in a diverse range of chemogenomics applications. The company also has strategic partnerships with leading life sciences companies including MDS Pharma Services (TSE: MDS - News; NYSE: MDZ - News) and GE Healthcare.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Iconix was founded in 1998 and is privately held. For more information, visit www.iconixpharm.com.

Locus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a computationally-based drug design and development company, announced today the continuation of its multi-stage research collaboration with Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), focused on agrochemicals and biotechnology innovation. The collaboration involves the application of Locus’ proprietary computational technologies to design and develop novel small molecules to treat fungal targets identified by Dow AgroSciences. Financial and other terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. However, if the collaboration is successful, Locus will realize certain milestones and royalties and will have an exclusive option to human therapeutic applications.

“We are delighted that Dow AgroSciences will be moving to the next stage in the collaboration we entered into just over a year ago,” said Jeffrey S. Wiseman, Ph.D., Vice President, Technology & Informatics at Locus. “This project has been technically challenging since we have needed to compute binding to a protein with more than 1,400 residues, which may well be the largest protein surface ever comprehensively sampled for drug binding calculations.”

“We are very pleased with the progress of our collaboration with Locus and, in particular, the large increase in potency achieved in the first round of chemical designs compared to known leads,” said Dr. Bill Kleschick, director of Discovery Research at Dow AgroSciences. “We look forward to moving to Stage II where we will be working with Locus to optimize these designs.”

Locus’ core technology is fragment-based, computational drug design which Locus has combined with highly integrated medicinal chemistry and biology capabilities.

Starting with a protein crystal structure, an in silico collection of 40,000 molecular fragments and one of the world’s largest privately-owned Linux-based supercomputer clusters, Locus identifies optimum ligand binding sites on protein targets and computes the binding affinity of molecular fragments to these sites. The fragments are then assembled computationally into drug candidates with accurately predicted binding potency. Other Locus technologies model physically realistic, long-range timescales of protein motion and incorporate appropriate chemical properties. The result is a ‘virtual library’ of drug candidates that exceeds the size and diversity of any physical screening library by orders of magnitude. Because of the speed and accuracy with which these virtual libraries are constructed and evaluated, Locus typically needs to synthesize only hundreds of compounds to generate highly potent lead molecules.

About Locus Pharmaceuticals

Locus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a world leader in computational drug design. These proprietary computational approaches are combined with in-house expertise in chemistry, biology and crystallography to create a fully integrated drug discovery and development platform.

Locus’ internal development programs are focused on oral drug therapies for humans that address major unmet medical needs, principally in cancer and inflammation. Locus expects to file an IND early this year for LP-261, Locus’ lead oncology compound. In its inflammation program, Locus created uniquely selective p38 inhibitors that target an allosteric binding site rather than the ATP site, which may offer an improved safety profile compared to other p38 compounds under development. Earlier stage projects include a program to develop multi-kinase inhibitors, a Heat Shock Protein 90 program which is being conducted in a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a gp41 program for AIDS/HIV. All of the Company’s development programs emanate from its computational technology. Locus is privately-held. Visit www.locuspharma.com for more information.

About Dow AgroSciences

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, is a global leader in providing pest management and biotechnology products that improve the quality and quantity of the earth’s food supply and contribute to the health and quality of life of the world’s growing population. Dow AgroSciences has approximately 5,500 people in more than 50 countries dedicated to its business, and has worldwide sales of US $3.4 billion. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. For more information about Dow AgroSciences, visit www.dowagro.com.

DURHAM, N.C. — DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University (NCCU) (Durham, NC) has entered a material transfer agreement with Biogen Idec, a global biotechnology leader, that would provide its students with access to a 350,000 compound library.

“The addition of this compound library aids the establishment of high throughput screening core facility and furthers the BRITE’s effort to collaborate with the other research organizations at the Research Triangle Park,” said Li-An Yeh, director of BRITE.

In this agreement, Biogen Idec has agreed to grant NCCU a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use a chemical collection of approximate 350,000 compounds at the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) as a research tool in its drug discovery and chemical genomic research.

“This should be an extremely valuable resource to NCCU students,” said Juan Torres, Ph.D., director of Quality for Biogen Idec and member of the leadership team at the company’s Research Triangle Park facilities.

“The availability and quick access to these data will provide students with the most current information on a wide range of chemical compounds that will promote discovery and research within the BRITE initiative.”

Biogen Idec supports several statewide biotechnology training initiatives and has been involved with the Biomanufacturing and Pharmaceutical Training Consortium (BPTC) since its inception. BRITE is a component of the BPTC effort.

BRITE is in the process of establishing research activities toward biomanufacturing, drug discovery and related research. The mission of BRITE is to train students at the B.S.; M.S. and Ph.D. levels to work in the biotechnology and drug industries in North Carolina.

About Biogen Idec: Biogen Idec, which operates facilities in Research Triangle Park (RTP) with more than 560 employees, creates new standards of care in oncology, neurology and immunology. As a global leader in the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of novel therapies, Biogen Idec transforms scientific discoveries into advances in human healthcare. For product labeling, press releases and additional information about the company, please visit www.biogenidec.com.

3 February 2006, Hamburg, Germany | Oxford, UK - Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, TecDAX 30) today announced the successful completion of the single ascending dose component of the Phase I clinical study with EVT 101, a subtype-specific NMDA receptor antagonist for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The study in 48 young healthy subjects of whom 36 received EVT 101 showed that EVT 101 was well absorbed, achieving good exposure levels, was extremely well tolerated with no significant adverse events and had a good pharmacokinetic profile consistent with once or twice daily oral dosing.

This result is significant given the unfavourable side-effect profile of non-selective NMDA antagonists. EVT 101 has now moved into the multiple ascending dose stage of the Phase I study in both young and elderly volunteers. Evotec expects to publish final results of the complete Phase I trials for EVT 101 in Q3 2006.

Notes to the editor

About EVT 101

EVT 101 is being developed for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. It is a highly potent and selective antagonist of NR2B subunit containing NMDA receptors. In preclinical studies, the compound shows strong efficacy and an improved side effect profile compared to non-selective NMDA receptor antagonists and has good oral bioavailability and in vivo pharmacokinetics.

NMDA background

Apart from their normal physiological role in nerve-to-nerve cell communication NMDA receptors are important players in certain pathological disease states such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, neuropathic pain and epilepsy. The hypothesis is that when NMDA receptor over-activation is reduced in these conditions with an ”antagonist”, disease symptoms are reduced. Extensive studies over the last 15 years have indicated a potential for NMDA receptor antagonists in the treatment of these diseases. However, the clinical development of non-selective antagonists has been limited by unfavourable side-effects, such as hallucinations. In the early 1990’s it was found that multiple NMDA receptor subtypes exist which contain different NR2(A-D) subunits. Compounds selectively targeting NR2B subunit-containing receptors retain many of the beneficial effects of earlier non-selective compounds but have much improved side effect profiles. Separating side effects from beneficial effects by selectively targeting the NR2B-subunit allows higher dosing and hence the potential to increase efficacy of the drug.

About Evotec AG

Evotec is a leader in the discovery and development of novel small molecule drugs. Both through its own discovery programmes and through contract research partnerships, the Company is generating the highest quality research results to its partners in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

In proprietary projects, Evotec specialises in finding new treatments for diseases of the CNS. Evotec has three Phase I clinical programmes: EVT 201, a GABAA modulator for the treatment of insomnia, EVT 101, a subtype selective NMDA receptor antagonist for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and neuropathic pain and EVT 301, a selective and reversible inhibitor of MAO-B for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

In contract research, Evotec has established itself as the partner of choice for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. The Company provides innovative and often integrated solutions from drug target to clinic through an unmatched range of capabilities, including early stage assay development and screening through to medicinal chemistry and drug manufacturing.

In 2005, based on preliminary numbers Evotec has generated sales of EUR 79 million with 600 employees located in Hamburg, Germany and near Oxford and in Glasgow, UK.

LOS ANGELES, February 02, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — CytRx Corporation today announced publication of a significant research article that highlights for the first time that RIP140 suppression by small interfering RNA (siRNA) in cell culture or by gene-deletion in mice enhances glucose tolerance and insulin responsiveness. This CytRx-supported research further bolsters the potential utility of CytRx’s RNAi therapeutics development program that is designed to silence RIP140 as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes. CytRx has exclusive rights to intellectual property covering a drug screening method targeting RIP140, a nuclear hormone corepressor that regulates fat accumulation.

The article, entitled “Suppression of oxidative metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis by the transcriptional corepressor RIP140 in mouse adipocytes,” was published in the January 2006 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Michael P. Czech, PhD, professor and chair of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and Malcolm Parker, FMedSci of Imperial College London, are the principle authors of the article. CytRx is developing potential RNAi therapeutics based on Drs. Czech and Parker’s discovery as part of its exclusive license agreements with UMMS and Imperial Innovations Ltd., a subsidiary company of Imperial College London that provides business development and technology transfer services.

“This important research published in a highly regarded peer-reviewed journal extends upon earlier work by Drs. Czech and Parker that demonstrated the critical role of RIP140 in obesity, and serves to further validate RIP140 as an important drug target for type 2 diabetes,” said Steven A. Kriegsman, President and CEO of CytRx. “Furthermore, this publication substantiates the value of our RNAi platform technology for the discovery of novel drug targets, as RIP140 is one of the protein targets identified by the proprietary screening technology that we’ve licensed from UMMS. By working with these distinguished scientific advisors, and applying our internal discovery program to advance RNAi therapeutics targeting RIP140, we want to rapidly complete the remaining pre-clinical tests that, if successful, would allow us to advance a RIP140 therapeutic into the clinic.”

Dr. Czech, who also serves as Chairman of the CytRx Metabolic Scientific Advisory Board, added, “Our paper reports that depletion of RIP140 in vivo can improve responsiveness to insulin under circumstances such as a high-fat diet, where normal animals develop insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. We are encouraged that our results indicate that RIP140 appears to be an ideal target for developing RNAi therapeutics to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.”

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that worldwide more than 1 billion adults are overweight and at least 300 million of them are clinically obese. WHO cites overweight and obesity as major contributors to the growing incidence of chronic diet-related diseases and disabilities, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, obesity-related deaths rose 33% to an estimated 400,000 between 1990 and 2000. A recent Rand study found that by 2020, approximately one in five healthcare dollars spent on people aged 50 to 70 will be due to obesity-related disabilities, if the current trend of overeating and inactivity continues.

About CytRx Corporation

CytRx Corporation is a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of products. The Company owns three clinical-stage compounds based on its small molecule “molecular chaperone” co-induction technology, as well as a targeted library of 500 small molecule drug candidates that may be used to screen for new drug candidates. CytRx has initiated a Phase II clinical trial with its lead small molecule product candidate arimoclomol for the treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Arimoclomol has received Orphan Drug and Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CytRx has previously announced that a novel HIV DNA + protein vaccine exclusively licensed to CytRx and developed by researchers at UMMS and Advanced BioScience Laboratories, and funded by the National Institutes of Health, demonstrated very promising interim Phase I clinical trial results that indicate its ability to produce potent antibody responses with neutralizing activity against multiple HIV viral strains. For more information, visit CytRx’s Web site at www.cytrx.com.

About the University of Massachusetts Medical School

The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest growing academic health centers in the country, has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $174 million in research funding annually, 80% of which comes from federal funding sources. Research funding enables UMMS scientists to explore human disease from the molecular level to large-scale clinical trials. Basic and clinical research leads to new approaches for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Visit www.umassmed.edu for additional information.

About Imperial Innovations Ltd.

Imperial Innovations is one of the United Kingdom’s leading technology commercialization companies, having created over 54 spin-out companies and concluded 100 licence agreements. Imperial Innovations is committed to the creating of wealth for its shareholders, and the company’s mission to match the outstanding quality of research at Imperial College London with excellence in technology transfer.

About Imperial College London

Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (11,000) and staff (6,000) of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the environment — underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture. Website: www.imperial.ac.uk