biocrea acquires CNS pipeline and PDE inhibitor platform from Biotie Therapies Corp. and announces corporate strategy

- New entity will be based in Radebeul, Germany -

Radebeul, Germany, November 4, 2010 – biocrea GmbH today announced further details about the newly incorporated company and its strategy going forward. As published on October 29, biocrea acquires the CNS pipeline and phosphodiesterase enzyme (PDE) inhibitor platform from Biotie Therapies Corp. (HSE: BTH1V; Turku, Finland).

The new company will be based in Radebeul, Germany. Dr. Thomas Kronbach, Biotie’s former Chief Scientific Officer, has left Biotie to become CEO of biocrea. The company currently has a pipeline of three PDE inhibitors at research and preclinical stages, which will be advanced into clinical development by 2012. The compounds have already demonstrated efficacy in preclinical animal models for schizophrenia, memory impairment, depression and anxiety.

Moreover, biocrea has established a leading internal drug development platform for PDE inhibitors. Already, biocrea’s researchers have identified several thousand structurally diverse PDE inhibitors with high specificity and nanomolar affinity and have a track record of collaborations with Wyeth (now Pfizer) and GlaxoSmithKline in PDE inhibitor drug discovery and development. In addition, the company has long-standing experience in medicinal chemistry, in particular with drug-like compounds capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, and in the design of behavioral animal models for neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases.

“Our goal is to fill the gap that has emerged since many pharmaceutical companies have discontinued their R&D activities in CNS,” said Tom Kronbach, CEO of biocrea. “Our team has a unique track record in the field of CNS therapeutics, including the development of PDE inhibitors for the treatment of schizophrenia, and we are excited to acquire the assets from Biotie. We are convinced that biocrea will be able to become one of the leading CNS plays and are currently evaluating partnering and financing opportunities.”

Biotie will take a minority interest in biocrea and provide initial funding of up to EUR 4.8 million to the new entity.

About biocrea
biocrea was established in November 2010 following a management buy-out from Biotie Therapies Corp. (HSE: BTH1V; Turku, Finland). In the transaction, biocrea acquires the CNS pipeline and PDE inhibitor platform from Biotie. biocrea´s team has a long-standing, exceptional track record in the development of CNS therapeutics, e.g. the development of a PDE10 inhibitor portfolio for the treatment of schizophrenia in collaboration with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer, which acquired Wyeth in 2009.

biocrea GmbH
Dr. Tom Kronbach
CEO
Meissner Str. 191
01445 Radebeul

Tel.: +49 351 / 4043 3332
Fax: +49 351 / 4043 3216
tom.kronbach@biocrea.com

This release was published on openPR.