TaiGen Biotechnology announces strategic agreement with Procter & Gamble (PG) :: BiotechEast - Taiwan and China biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, ^¤å½s×, ^¤å×§ï ::

(Press release, TaiGen Biotechnology)

5 January, 2005
TaiGen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced today the signing of a strategic alliance relationship with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (P&GP) to further the development and commercialization of a novel non-flourinated quinolone antibiotic, invented by P&GP. Under the terms of the agreement, TaiGen will be responsible for conducting Phase Ib and Phase II development of the compound to meet worldwide regulatory standards. If Phase II results are positive, Procter & Gamble, in conjunction with TaiGen, may then seek a pharmaceutical partner for the Phase III development and subsequent commercialization of the compound. In addition, TaiGen acquires development and commercialization rights within China, Taiwan, Korea and the ASEAN countries.

Ming-Chu Hsu, President & Chief Executive Officer of TaiGen commented, ''In addition to the robust preclinical pipeline built through internal discovery programs in the past three years, this deal realizes two major strategic objectives of TaiGen. The commercialization rights to the compound within Asia is an important step forward in our goal of becoming a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, particularly with our emphasis on realizing value from our activities in China. In addition, we look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities in early stage pharmaceutical development and to share that value with our partner P&GP.''

Don Lucas, Worldwide Strategic Alliances for Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals noted the strategic flexibility achieved by this agreement. He said, ''We believe this is a strong development candidate. However, at this time anti-infectives is not a core strategic focus of our internal development organization, thus a partnership for this compound makes sense. This deal allows the continued advancement of the compound, while retaining for P&GP the rights to re-evaluate this opportunity after Phase II studies are complete. Options at that point could include re-partnering the technology or undertaking Phase III development and commercialization outside of specific Asian territories.''

Burrill & Company was retained by P&GP to assist in the deal. G. Steven Burrill commented, ''This is truly a groundbreaking deal. Both sides win, and achieve important strategic objectives with a novel deal structure. We also think it plays well into the rapidly emerging biotechnology capabilities in Asia. We were pleased to be part of developing this deal between two innovative partners.''

About TaiGen Biotechnology:
TaiGen Biotechnology (http://www.taigenbiotech.com) is a privately held pharmaceutical company based in Taiwan with a vision of becoming a fully integrated pharmaceutical company. The company is developing an innovative pipeline of development candidates through internal discovery and in-licensing, including drugs to treat immune disorders, cancer and infectious diseases. Three years into operation, the company has four compounds in preclinical development for tissue ischemia; transplant rejection, solid tumors and SARS and is actively pursuing late-stage development compounds. To date, TaiGen has raised a total of US$75 million through two rounds of financing with MPM Capital leading the first round and China Steel leading the second round. The company's strategic partners include Arena Pharmaceuticals of the US for the application of constitutively-activated receptor technology (CART) for selected G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals of Japan for out-licensing of a drug target and proprietary assays for the discovery of drugs to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, BioXell of Italy for collaboration in discovery of novel drug targets, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital of Taiwan for access to tumor and hepatitis-infected tissues from 7,000 patients and TTY Biopharm of Taiwan for joint development and marketing of a novel drug for cancer treatment. At present, TaiGen has 96 employees, including 75 scientists recruited from the US, Europe, Canada and Taiwan. Its 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art research facility is located in Taipei near major research institutions and hospitals. TaiGen currently has offices in Taiwan, China and the US with R&D,business development, clinical development and marketing operations.

About P&G:
Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Bounty(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Actonel(R), Olay(R) and Clairol Nice 'n Easy(R), Head & Shoulders(R), and Wella. The P&G community consists of almost 110,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Burrill & Company:
Burrill & Company is a life sciences merchant bank, focused exclusively on companies involved in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, human healthcare and related medical technologies, wellness and nutraceuticals, agricultural technologies, and industrial biotechnology (biomaterials/bioprocesses). Visit Burrill & Company's website at http://www.burrillandco.com .

TaiGen contact:
Dr. Stephen Ip, SVP Global Business Development Tel: +886-2-2790-1861

Web sites:
http://www.burrillandco.com/
http://www.pg.com/
http://www.taigenbiotech.com/

(Press release, TaiGen Biotechnology)

Print this Article