Organon Teknika obtains exclusive rights of analgesic compound

Organon Teknika obtains exclusive rights of analgesic compound Arnhem, the Netherlands, April 8, 1999. - Akzo Nobel announced today that Organon Teknika, a business unit of Akzo Nobel, has acquired the world wide exclusive rights from Delta Pharmaceuticals to develop and distribute a potent injectable analgesic compound that has successfully completed Phase I clinical trials. Organon Teknika will carry out a worldwide clinical development program to bring the product to the market. The licensing transaction provides that Organon Teknika will assume responsibility for conducting future clinical trials both in the United States and internationally, and will seek Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory approvals. Distribution of the final product will be handled by Organon Teknika's worldwide network of affiliates and distributors. The agreement, which extends for the full life of the patent, provides for development milestone payments and a continuing royalty on sales of the product after approval. The analgesic compound is based on a novel class of delta opioid receptor agonists which have the promise to provide strong analgesia with fewer serious side effects -such as respiratory depression - caused by currently-approved drugs. In early clinical trials, the compound has indicated that it can deliver potent analgesia equal to morphine. It is estimated that there are annually more than 25 million surgical patients in the United States alone that could benefit from the drug, if approved. Organon Teknika has a strong track record of innovation, both in the field of diagnostic products and in the field of products for the management of the neuromuscular block. The company introduced the first clinically successful non-depolarizing muscle relaxant Pavulon® in 1973. In 1983 the company introduced Norcuron®, which soon became the gold standard of products for neuromuscular block, because of its excellent safety profile. In 1994 Organon Teknika introduced the first rapid onset non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent Zemuron® / Esmeron®. The company anticipates to introduce Raplon@, a new rapid onset short duration muscle relaxant in late 1999. This will further support its world leadership in this field. "We are very pleased with the conclusion of this agreement", said Bob Salsmans, President of Organon Teknika. "The acquisition of the exclusive rights of this new opioid analgesic emphasizes our commitment to become a strong global player in other areas of anesthesiology as well." "Delta Pharmaceuticals is pleased to have come to agreement with Organon Teknika, which we believe is positioned strategically to fully develop and commercialize this new technology," stated Ken Chang, President and CEO of Delta Pharmaceuticals. "This is the first of several compounds that Delta is developing that will utilize our delta receptor technology platform. This licensing arrangement will support our company's further efforts to develop additional products for treatment of chronic pain and urinary incontinence." Delta Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately-held development stage biotechnology company, located in North Carolina, the United States. The company develops novel compounds for the treatment of pain, urinary incontinence, neuroprotection and other therapeutic uses. Delta has more than 450 delta receptor and other unique compounds in its proprietary chemical library. Organon Teknika, with headquarters in Boxtel, the Netherlands, specializes in research & development, manufacturing and marketing of advanced systems for hospitals, laboratories and blood banks. This business unit of Akzo Nobel currently employs more than 2,200 people and is active in more than 60 countries worldwide. Akzo Nobel, based in the Netherlands, serves customers throughout the world with healthcare products, coatings, chemicals and fibers. The fibers business, now known as Acordis, is intended to be demerged in the course of the second half of 1999. The company currently employs some 86,000 people in more than 60 countries. As from 1999 the Euro will be Akzo Nobel's external reporting currency. Consolidated sales for 1998 totaled NLG 27.5 billion (EUR 12.5 billion / USD 13.8 billion / GBP 8.4 billion). Financial results for the first quarter of 1999 will be announced on April 21. Internet:http://www.akzonobel.com http://www.organonteknika.com Note for the editor / not for publication For more information please contact: Organon Teknika Jan Dopper, executive vice-president, tel. +31 411 654196 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/04/08/19990408BIT00050/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/04/08/19990408BIT00050/bit0002.pdf