KARO BIO AND WYETH EXTEND RESEARCH COLLABORATION
The Swedish company Karo Bio, listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm 1998 (Reuters: KARO.ST), today announced that Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) and Karo Bio extended their atherosclerosis collaboration for an additional year until August 31, 2009. The primary objective of the extension is to identify and select development candidates for treatment of atherosclerosis and to further evaluate additional clinical possibilities by targeting LXR.
The collaboration with Wyeth started in 2001 with the aim to develop novel compounds for treatment of atherosclerosis with LXR as target receptor.
“We are enthusiastic about the continuation of our joint collaboration and we see good prospects for selection of new development candidates and for an expansion of the clinical opportunities for compounds targeting LXR,” says Per Olof Wallström, President of Karo Bio.
LXR is a nuclear hormone receptor that is an important regulator of cholesterol metabolism in mammals. LXR has many features that make it an attractive drug development target for prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and dyslipidemia. Modulation of LXR with small molecule compounds has been demonstrated to enhance the efflux of cholesterol from cells in atherosclerotic blood vessels, resulting in a reduction in the progression of atherosclerotic disease in selected experimental models. Modulation of LXR has also been implicated in reducing vascular inflammation which, in addition to cholesterol, is an important mediator of atherosclerosis. It is believed that these features of LXR are of central importance for a new generation of drugs to treat and prevent atherosclerosis successfully.
For further information, please contact:
Per Olof Wallström, President & Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +46 8 608 60 20
Per Otteskog, Senior Vice President Investor Relations
Phone: +46 8 608 60 18
About Karo Bio
Karo Bio is a drug discovery and development company specializing in nuclear receptors for the development of novel pharmaceuticals.
The Company has a strong project portfolio with innovative molecules that primarily target metabolic diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis and dyslipidemia. In all of these areas there are significant market opportunities and a need for pharmaceuticals with new mechanisms of action. Karo Bio intends to bring selected compounds within niche therapeutic areas into late stage clinical develop¬ment and, potentially, to the market. In addition to pursuing niche opportunities, Karo Bio continues to develop compounds aimed at treatment of broad patient populations to clinical proof of concept before out licensing.
In addition to the proprietary projects, Karo Bio has three strategic collaborations with international pharmaceutical companies for development of innovative therapies for the treatment of common diseases.
Karo Bio is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm since 1998 (Reuters: KARO.ST).
This press release is also available online at: www.karobio.com and www.newsroom.cision.com