Success with Schering AG

Sareum Holdings PLC 08 June 2006 For immediate release 8 June 2006 SAREUM HOLDINGS PLC ("Sareum" or the "Company") Success Milestones Reached in Collaboration with Schering AG Sareum Holdings plc (AIM: SAR), the specialist structure-based drug discovery business, is pleased to announce the achievement of key success milestones in its collaboration with Schering AG (FSE: SCH, NYSE: SHR). In this collaboration, first announced in October 2005, Sareum has succeeded in using X-ray crystallography to determine, on schedule, the three-dimensional structure of one of Schering's drug discovery research targets. To the best of our knowledge, Sareum is the only organization to have successfully determined the structure of this target. As a result of this achievement, Sareum has received success milestone payments. Sareum will continue to provide structure information to support Schering's drug discovery research on this target in return for further success milestone payments. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Commenting on the agreement, Sareum's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tim Mitchell, said: "We are extremely pleased to have achieved these success milestones in this important collaboration. The successful determination of this difficult and previously un-solved protein structure further demonstrates our leading position in structure-based drug discovery research." For further information: Sareum Holdings 01223 497700 Tim Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer Buchanan Communications 020 7466 5000 Tim Anderson, Mary-Jane Johnson Notes for editors: About Sareum Holdings plc Sareum Holdings plc is a structure-based drug discovery business headquartered in Cambridge, UK. Sareum Limited was formed in August 2003 to discover new drugs for the treatment of cancer and to provide a range of drug discovery services to the pharmaceutical industry. Sareum's unique approach aims to halve the time it takes to discover new drug candidates. A structure-based approach to drug discovery relies on knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of the proteins that cause disease. Once the structure is known, potential drugs are designed to 'lock-in' to the protein with the aim of reversing or arresting a disease's progression. Knowledge of the structure of the potential drugs and how they 'lock-in' to the protein permits the best potential drug to be discovered. Determining structure is a complex task and requires leading-edge equipment and experienced staff. Sareum's approach to structure determination is to produce multiple recombinant proteins primarily through a baculovirus expression system and to determine their structure using x-ray crystallography. When the structure is determined, the Company's innovative Template Screening platform is used to identify novel chemical starting material designed to interact with the target protein. Sareum then uses its high-throughput medicinal chemistry platform to rapidly optimise these molecules and develop the most promising into potential drug candidates. Sareum provides its specialist drug discovery capabilities to partners in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The Company aims to successfully deliver: Programmes for complete gene-to-candidate structure-based discovery; projects to accelerate or improve the productivity of specific activities; and drug candidates for licensing at the Phase I or Phase II clinical trials stage. Sareum joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2004 and trades under the symbol SAR. For further information, please visit www.sareum.co.uk About Schering AG Schering AG is a research-based pharmaceutical company. Its activities are focused on four business areas: Gynecology&Andrology, Oncology, Diagnostic Imaging as well as Specialized Therapeutics for disabling diseases. As a global player with innovative products Schering AG aims for leading positions in specialized markets worldwide. With in-house R&D and supported by an excellent global network of external partners, Schering AG is securing a promising product pipeline. Using new ideas, Schering AG aims to make a recognized contribution to medical progress and strives to improve the quality of life: making medicine work This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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