Geneva, Switzerland, April 13, 2012 - Addex
Therapeutics (SIX:ADXN), a leading organization
pioneering allosteric modulation-based oral small
molecule drug discovery and development, announced today
that it has started initiating organizational changes to
improve operational efficiency, reduce cost of capital
and drive long-term success. Addex will continue to
pursue its strategy of building shareholder value through
developing its robust in-house pipeline of novel oral
small molecule drug candidates through clinical proof of
concept and pursuing high value partnerships with larger
organizations that are able to offer significant
development and marketing capabilities.
Addex recently announced positive top-line results from a
Phase 2 clinical trial of its proprietary dipraglurant
product in patients with Parkinson's disease
levodopa-induced dyskinesia. In addition, Addex'
ADX71149 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2a
clinical trial by its partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Inc. to treat schizophrenia.
Following a careful review of Addex operations over the
past several months and industry trends, the management
and the board of directors have decided that, in order to
ensure the most efficient use of its capital and
resources to execute on its robust pipeline and new
product opportunities, Addex plans to reduce the size of
its operations in Geneva. The changes will ensure that
Addex will retain its core competencies and leadership
position in allosteric modulator-based discovery and
development in-house while accessing non-core activities
from external providers.
As part of this new organization, while Addex will move
to retain key personnel, the headcount is expected
to be reduced by up to 28 people. To this end, a
consultation process, required under Swiss law, has been
initiated. During the consultation period, which shall
last 10 business days, the management will work to
determine the specific details of the restructuring. An
announcement detailing the new organization and the
resulting cost savings will be made thereafter.
"The loss of people's jobs at Addex is something
we deeply regret," said Bharatt Chowrira, President
& Chief Executive Officer of Addex. "However, we
believe it is necessary to improve the operational
efficiency and reduce cost structure without harming
pipeline execution and innovation. We are implementing
these strategic initiatives from a position of strength
following our recent positive results in Parkinson's
disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia Phase 2 clinical
trials. We believe that these measures will position
Addex for long-term success and help build significant
shareholder value."
Addex is making excellent progress in advancing its
proprietary pipeline of novel oral small molecules
against a number of validated high-value targets. Near
term R&D milestones include:
·
The Phase 2a clinical trial data with dipraglurant
for the treatment of Parkinson's disease
levodopa-induced dyskinesia will be presented in more
detail at an international conference later this year;
Positive top-line results were announced in March
2012
·
Top-line results from the Phase 2a trial
with ADX71149 in schizophrenia patients expected
in 2H12 from partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals
·
IND/CTA filing to initiate clinical trials with
GABA-B receptor PAM compound expected in 4Q12
Addex Therapeutics (www.addextherapeutics.com)
discovers and develops an emerging class of small
molecule drugs, called allosteric modulators, which have
the potential to be more specific and confer significant
therapeutic advantages over conventional
"orthosteric" small molecule or biological
drugs. Addex uses its proprietary discovery platform to
address receptors and other proteins that are recognized
as attractive targets for modulation of important
diseases with unmet medical needs. Addex' two lead
products are being investigated in Phase 2 clinical
testing: dipraglurant (ADX48621, an mGluR5 negative
allosteric modulator or NAM) is being developed by Addex
to treat Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced
dyskinesia (PD-LID); and ADX71149 (mGluR2 positive
allosteric modulator or PAM) is being developed by its
partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. to treat
schizophrenia. Addex also is advancing several
preclinical programs including: GABA-BR PAM for pain,
overactive bladder and other disorders; mGluR4 PAM for
Parkinson's, anxiety and other diseases; GLP1R PAM
for type 2 diabetes; mGluR2 NAM for treating
Alzheimer's disease and depression; and FSHR/LHR NAM
for sex hormone dependent tumors & reproductive system
disorders. In addition, Addex has discovery programs to
identify allosteric modulators of: receptor tyrosine
kinase (RTK) superfamily, including TrkB PAM for treating
neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases); and TNF
receptor superfamily, including TNFR1 NAM for
inflammation (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) and other
diseases.
Tim Dyer
Chief Financial Officer
Addex Therapeutics
+41 22 884 15 61
PR(at)addextherapeutics.com
Disclaimer: The foregoing release may contain
forward-looking statements that can be identified by
terminology such as "not approvable",
"continue", "believes",
"believe", "will", "remained
open to exploring", "would",
"could", or similar expressions, or by express
or implied discussions regarding Addex Therapeutics,
formerly known as, Addex Pharmaceuticals, its business,
the potential approval of its products by regulatory
authorities, or regarding potential future revenues from
such products. Such forward-looking statements reflect
the current views of Addex Therapeutics regarding future
events, future economic performance or prospects, and, by
their very nature, involve inherent risks and
uncertainties, both general and specific, whether known
or unknown, and/or any other factor that may materially
differ from the plans, objectives, expectations,
estimates and intentions expressed or implied in such
forward-looking statements. Such may in particular cause
actual results with allosteric modulators of mGluR2,
mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR, FSHR/LHR, GLP1R, TNFR1,
RTK, TrkB or other therapeutic targets
to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
statements. There can be no guarantee that allosteric
modulators of mGluR2, mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR, FSHR/LHR,
GLP1R, TNFR1, RTK, TrkB or
other therapeutics targets will be approved for sale in
any market or by any regulatory authority. Nor can there
be any guarantee that allosteric modulators of mGluR2,
mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR, FSHR/LHR, GLP1R,
TNFR1, RTK, TrkB or other
therapeutic targets will achieve any particular levels of
revenue (if any) in the future. In particular,
management's expectations regarding allosteric
modulators of mGluR2, mGluR4, mGluR5, GABABR,
FSHR/LHR, GLP1R, TNFR1,
RTK, TrkB or other therapeutic targets
could be affected by, among other things, unexpected
actions by our partners, unexpected regulatory actions or
delays or government regulation generally; unexpected
clinical trial results, including unexpected new clinical
data and unexpected additional analysis of existing
clinical data; competition in general; government,
industry and general public pricing pressures; the
company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or
other proprietary intellectual property protection.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Addex
Therapeutics is providing the information in this press
release as of this date and does not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as may be
required by applicable laws.
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