direct/ Clinquest Group BV (NL) - Clinquest Group and TNO sign licensing agreement on protein for inflammatory disorders

Clinquest obtains exclusive worldwide rights to clinical development and commercialization -

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 06-03-2007

Clinquest Group of Amsterdam, The Netherlands and TNO of Delft, The Netherlands, have signed a license and collaboration agreement that provides Clinquest with the exclusive rights to worldwide clinical development and commercialization of CQ-07001, a highly promising candidate for anti-inflammatory and tissue regeneration applications. Under the terms of the agreement, TNO will receive milestone fees and royalty payments, but financial details were not disclosed.

CQ-07001 is an endogenous human protein that has shown to be a powerful agonist to Toll-Like Receptor 3 (TLR 3). The 10 human Toll-Like Receptors (TLR) are generally implicated in recognizing pathogens and inducing immune responses and as such, TLRs play in important role in maintaining the body´s capacity to counter harmful invaders. Studies performed by TNO have shown that TLR 3, in contrast to the other TLRs, is stimulated by CQ-07001 and subsequently triggers anti-inflammatory and tissue repair responses. This capacity of CQ-07001 makes it a promising candidate for clinical development aimed at various anti-inflammatory and tissue regeneration applications - both fields offer large market potential.

Clinquest Group´s CEO Cees Wortel, MD, Ph.D. comments on the agreement: "The outstanding scientific work by TNO offers an excellent basis for successful clinical development of CQ-07001 for a number of indications with a high medical need. The agreement perfectly fits with our corporate growth strategy, which also includes an increasing focus on in-house product development in partnership with our clients, through our subsidiary Clinquest Pharmaceutical Innovations. Our focus will be on the first stages of clinical development, whereas the advanced stages will probably be conducted through strategic collaborations with parties in the pharmaceutical industry."

We are very pleased with the collaboration of Clinquest Group in this program" says Niek Snoeij, Director of Business Development, TNO "Their excellent track record and in-depth knowledge of pharmaceutical product development ensure that our original research efforts will now result in a successful and efficient development of CQ-07001 into products that may benefit many patients around the world.

About Clinquest Group
The Clinquest Group is a trusted Healthcare Product Development Organization (PDO), which offers comprehensive product development services to the bio-pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics and medical data industries worldwide. Clinquest provides high-level strategic consulting as well as hands-on implementation services. Clinquest is recognized as a leader in the development of new, breakthrough technologies, first-in-man clinical trials and extremely complex clinical studies. The Clinquest Group operates through three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Clinquest Inc., Clinquest Europe and Clinquest Pharmaceutical Innovations. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and has offices in the USA and Singapore.
www.clinquesteurope.com

About Clinquest Pharmaceutical Innovations
Clinquest Pharmaceutical Innovations offers innovative risk sharing partnerships to selected clients, connecting the company´s development resources and expertise with the clients´ discovery efforts. Clinquest Pharmaceutical Innovations is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

About TNO
TNO is a prominent, independent research technology organisation, whose expertise and research contributes significantly to the competitiveness of businesses and organisations, to the economy and to the quality of life as a whole. Versatility and capacity to integrate this knowledge makes TNO unique. TNO employs some 4700 professionals. TNO operates in five core areas: TNO Quality of Life, TNO Defence, Security and Safety, TNO Science and Industry, TNO Built Environment and Geosciences, TNO Information and Communication Technology.
www.tno.nl

Media contact:

For Clinquest
Rolf Jan Rutten
Director Pharmaceutical & Corporate Dev.
T: +31(0)207512041
e-mail: rjrutten@clinquesteurope.com

For TNO
Maarten Lörtzer
Corporate Communication
T: +31 (0) 152694975
e-mail: maarten.lortzer@tno.nl



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