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September 18, 2009: Wyeth and Ambrx Form Multi-target Alliance to Leverage Recent Ambrx
Biologics Platform Advances
COLLEGEVILLE, PA and SAN DIEGO, CA
http://www.ambrx.com/wt/page/pr_1253291545
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) and Ambrx Inc.
today announced the formation of a worldwide alliance to discover,
develop, and commercialize protein drug candidates for three undisclosed
targets inmultiple therapeutic areas. The alliance will capitalize on
Ambrx's recent breakthroughs in applying its protein medicinal chemistry
platform to proteins produced in mammalian cells such as antibodies and
antibody-toxin conjugates.
Ambrx anticipates earning near term payments from an upfront commitment,
target loading fees and research funding. In addition, Ambrx will be
eligible to receive escalating preclinical, clinical, regulatory and
commercial milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on sales of
products resulting from the collaboration.
"This collaboration with Ambrx reinforces Wyeth's commitment to
sustaining and growing our already robust capabilities in the field of
biologics drug discovery through partnerships with biotech innovators,"
said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., President, Wyeth Research. "We are
enthusiastic about working with Ambrx, a company with the ability to
create and advance precisely engineered biologic drug candidates into
clinical trials using its proprietary platform."
Stephen Kaldor, Ph.D., President and CEO of Ambrx, said: "Wyeth is a
long-standing leader in protein therapeutics with a strong record of
successfully developing innovative products. We are pleased that Wyeth
recognizes the power of the Ambrx EuCODE™ platform and look forward to
collaborating with Wyeth's talented personnel to produce the next
generation of biologic drugs."
About Ambrx
Ambrx Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a broad
biologics platform that allows it to create best-in-class therapeutics,
including improved versions of native proteins and therapeutic antibodies.
Its most advanced product candidate, ARX201, is a long-acting growth
hormone partnered with Merck Serono that has successfully completed
initial clinical trials. The company has further validated its biologics
platform through additional partnerships with Merck Serono, Eli Lilly and
Company and Merck & Co. Ambrx is advancing a robust portfolio of product
opportunities spanning multiple therapeutic areas that are high optimized
for efficacy, safety and ease of use. For additional information, visit
www.ambrx.com.
About Wyeth
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the
areas of women's health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal
health, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia,
oncology, vaccines, and nutritional products. Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products
companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing,
and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products,
nutritionals and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of
life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
The statements in
this press release that are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements that are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, among others,
risks related to our proposed merger with
Pfizer, including satisfaction of the conditions
of the proposed merger on the proposed timeframe
or at all, contractual restrictions on the
conduct of our business included in the merger
agreement, and the potential for loss of key
personnel, disruption in key business activities
or any impact on our relationships with third
parties as a result of the announcement of the
proposed merger; the inherent uncertainty of the
timing and success of, and expense associated
with, research, development, regulatory approval
and commercialization of our products and
pipeline products; government cost-containment
initiatives; restrictions on third-party
payments for our products; substantial
competition in our industry, including from
branded and generic products; emerging data on
our products and pipeline products; the
importance of strong performance from our
principal products and our anticipated new
product introductions; the highly regulated
nature of our business; product liability,
intellectual property and other litigation risks
and environmental liabilities; the outcome of
government investigations; uncertainty regarding
our intellectual property rights and those of
others; difficulties associated with, and
regulatory compliance with respect to,
manufacturing of our products; risks associated
with our strategic relationships; global
economic conditions; interest and currency
exchange rate fluctuations and volatility in the
credit and financial markets; changes in
generally accepted accounting principles; trade
buying patterns; the impact of legislation and
regulatory compliance; risks and uncertainties
associated with global operations and sales; and
other risks and uncertainties, including those
detailed from time to time in our periodic
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including our current reports on
Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and
annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the
discussion under the caption "Item 1A, Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2008, which was filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on February 27, 2009. The forward-looking statements
in this press release are qualified by these risk factors. We assume no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Media Contacts:
Heidi Chokeir
Russo Partners
T (619) 528-2217
M (858) 380-6584
email: heidi.chokeir@russopartnersllc.c
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