Medivir receives milestone payment from research collaboration with Tibotec in the field of hepatitis C polymerase

Medivir AB (OMX Nordic: MVIR B) announces today that a milestone payment of 2.6 million euros was triggered following the selection of a preclinical development candidate, or Candidate Drug, from its hepatitis C (HCV) polymerase research collaboration with Tibotec.

Medivir entered a Research, Development and License agreement in the field of hepatitis C virus polymerase with Ortho Biotech Products LP and Tibotec BVBA of Mechelen, in May 2008. The aim of this HCV partnership is to identify and develop orally active inhibitors of the HCV polymerase NS5B.

Tibotec has the responsibility to carry out the regulatory preclinical phase of the project and for the clinical development and marketing of such compounds. Tibotec has been granted exclusive marketing rights in all countries except the Nordic countries where marketing rights are retained by Medivir.

“It is very gratifying to see that we so rapidly have been able to select CD from our collaboration with Tibotec. Strategically it is of crucial importance to develop clinical inhibitors of further HCV drug targets – such as the inhibition of polymerase NS5B – for the treatment of HCV infection. This collaboration with Tibotec has been highly successful, and we are already engaged in the development of TMC435 (previously TMC435350), a drug with a different point of attack, namely the NS3 protease enzyme. TMC435 is currently in phase IIa clinical trials” says Medivir’s CEO Lars Adlersson. Preliminary data from this trial was presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) meeting in San Francisco October 31 - November 4.

About hepatitis C
According to the World Health Organization, about 170 million people around the world are infected with chronic HCV and 3 to 4 million people are newly infected each year Chronic infection with HCV can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, and is the most common cause of liver transplant in Europe.

For additional information, please contact
Rein Piir, CFO & VP Investor Relations, Medivir +46 8 5468 3123 or +46 708 537 292.

For more on Medivir, please see the company website: www.medivir.se