ARDANA SIGNS THREE-YEAR EXTENSION TO ITS EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT WITH MRC HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE SCIENCES UNIT

- Deal Gives Ardana First Option on Strategic Research Projects -

Ardana Bioscience, the emerging pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving reproductive health, has concluded a new agreement with the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) which gives Ardana exclusive rights to commercialise selected research areas in the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit (HRSU) in Edinburgh, Scotland, over the next three years by exercising certain options for cash payment. The contract is a refinement of the five-year agreement that Ardana secured on its inception in 2000. The partnership will also afford the Unit additional funding for selected projects and help it to meet the objective of translating basic research on human reproduction into tangible health benefits.

The HRSU, which employs over 100 staff, is recognised by the World Health Organisation as one of the leading academic centres of excellence in reproductive biology in the world and it has been at the forefront of this area of research for the last 30 years. Under the new agreement, Ardana will provide additional funding to support the expansion of mutually beneficial research within three HRSU research groups, including one led by the Unit Director, Professor Bob Millar. Ardana will pay the MRC royalties on the income derived from rights granted to Ardana under the options Ardana exercises.

Dr Maureen Lindsay, Ardana Chief Executive Officer said: ‘The HRSU is a powerhouse of research and our collaboration over the last five years has been most successful and productive.’

‘The Unit has already contributed a series of exciting and innovative early stage development projects to the Ardana pipeline, the most advanced of which is a novel prostate cancer therapy, which has promise but is still a few years from the clinic. This deal ensures that we will continue to benefit from the Unit’s unique expertise in those areas of strategic importance to Ardana.’

Dr Roberto Solari, Chief Executive of Medical Research Council Technology said: ‘The HRSU is one of the UK’s leading research institutions and I am delighted that its pioneering research is now being translated into products which will benefit human health and wellbeing. There are many unmet needs in reproductive health. Through this agreement with Ardana, the MRC aims to address some of these neglected areas of medicine.’

Ardana's therapeutic interests encompass androgen replacement therapy;

reproductive endocrinology; urology; gynaecology – e.g. menstrual disorders, endometriosis, infertility; sexual dysfunction; obstetrics – e.g. cervical ripening, pre-eclampsia; and contraception. HRSU research programmes that are relevant to these strategic areas and which are covered by the agreement include its work on:

+ Neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction (relevant in hormone dependent cancers, endometriosis, infertility and contraception)

+ Cancers of the reproductive tract

+ Inflammatory and immune mediators in the female tract (relevant to endometriosis, menstrual disorders and obstetrics).

In 2005 the HRSU together with the Centre for Inflammation Research and Centre for Cardiovascular Research from the University of Edinburgh will move into a new £42 million Institute adjacent to a major teaching hospital. 

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