Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Agreements with Case Western Reserve University for Alzheimer's Disease Specific Oxidative Stress Model

Technology Presented by Company Scientists at World Alzheimer's Congress 2000 in Washington, D.C.

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--July 10, 2000-- Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has finalized a Collaborative Research Agreement and negotiated a Licensing Agreement with researchers at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) for the use of oxidative stress markers and proprietary models in screening drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD).

These agreements will give Panacea exclusive worldwide rights to the technology and establish a seamless working collaboration between the Company and CWRU that grants Panacea exclusive rights to all future developments.

The group of researchers is led by George Perry, Ph.D., who is currently Professor of Pathology and Neuroscience at CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Perry is one of the prominent world experts in the field of AD and is a pioneer in the area of oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases. He has published nearly 600 scientific papers, book chapters/reviews, and abstracts.

Dr. Perry is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and is the Associate Editor (section editor for Neuropathology) for the American Journal of Pathology.

He is on the editorial boards of nearly a dozen journals including Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, Brain Pathology, Investigational Drugs Journal, Journal of Neural Transmission, Alzheimer's Disease Review, and Alzheimer's Disease and Associated Disorders.

The technology, which was developed in collaboration with Panacea's scientists, demonstrates the usefulness of olfactory neurons as a disease model to measure changes in oxidative stress markers. The group's findings were presented today at the World Alzheimer's Congress 2000 being held in Washington, D.C.

The scientific paper, entitled "Increased Oxidative Stress Involving Olfactory Neurons In Alzheimer's Disease," outlines changes in five key oxidative stress markers and the usefulness of cultured olfactory neurons to provide an AD-specific oxidative stress model.

Dr. Perry stated, "This model now allows us to utilize our extensive findings and understanding of these oxidative stress markers to screen compounds specifically aimed at protecting vulnerable neurons in the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients from damage while restoring normal function."

Panacea is also pleased to announce that Dr. Perry will serve as Special Consultant for Alzheimer's Disease and as a member of the Company's Board of Scientific Advisors. In these capacities, Dr. Perry will work intimately with Panacea's drug development team to discover effective compounds to treat or slow the progression of AD.

"Our highly practical model is well suited for high-throughput screening efforts aimed at quickly producing multiple pre-clinical neuroprotectants," said Hossein A. Ghanbari, Ph.D., President and CEO of Panacea and a co-inventor of the technology. "We are particularly excited that our findings have produced an Alzheimer's-specific model since the cultured olfactory neurons mimic vulnerable neurons in the brain."

Panacea will also be drawing on the resources and expertise of Benjamin Wolozin, M.D., Ph.D., with whom Panacea previously announced a collaboration for the development of drugs to treat Parkinson's disease. Dr. Wolozin is the inventor of and the leading expert on cultured olfactory neurons and their use in neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Wolozin is also a member of the Company's Board of Scientific Advisors.

About Panacea Pharmaceuticals

Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. focuses on developing and utilizing protein-based technologies to detect and identify changes associated with and involved in diseases of the central nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, brain tumors, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, and Lewy body diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

Changes in disease-relevant proteins by altered expression, post-translational modification, and functional variation are utilized to develop diagnostic tests and therapeutic agents.

More information is available at www.PanaceaPharma.com, a web site developed by Ei Web Promotion, a division of eiCommunications.com, Inc. (www.eiCommunications.com), which offers integrated communications and web development solutions for the Information Age.

For more information on the World Alzheimer's Congress 2000, go to www.Alzheimer2000.org.