Panacea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Agreements Covering Drug Development Efforts Aimed at Cell Cycle Abnormalities in Alzheimer's Disease

Announcement Marks Second Set of Agreements with Case Western Reserve University Towards Alzheimer's Disease Drug Development

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--July 12, 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) covering drug development based on newly discovered findings and models involving cell cycle abnormalities found in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

These agreements will give Panacea exclusive worldwide rights to the technology and continue the seamless working collaboration between the Company and its CWRU partners. Panacea will also have exclusive rights to all future developments through these collaborations.

The group of researchers is led by Mark A. Smith, Ph.D., who is currently Associate Professor of Pathology at CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Smith is a highly active researcher exploring novel approaches in the study of the etiology of AD. He has pioneered research into cell cycle involvement in AD and its use as a target for drug development.

Dr. Smith has published over 300 scientific papers, book chapters/reviews, and abstracts. He is an editorial board member of a number of highly reputable journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience Research, Redox Report, Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, and Neurochemistry International. Dr. Smith also serves as a senior editor for the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Dr. Smith stated, ``This collaboration with Panacea allows us to model cell cycle abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease and the factors causing these abnormalities as a target for drug development. Drugs so developed should stop the progression of the disease and have a preventative effect.''

Panacea is also pleased to announce that Dr. Smith 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. Smith will work intimately with Panacea's drug development team in its discovery efforts.

``The addition of this important technology marks the beginning of our pledge to develop an integrated approach to Alzheimer's disease treatment,'' stated Hossein A. Ghanbari, Ph.D., President and CEO of Panacea. ``We will continue to build an Alzheimer's disease technology portfolio aimed at abnormalities relevant to the etiology of the disease and not simply the clinical or histopathological symptoms.''

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.