Full Press Release Details
FOR RELEASE DECEMBER 9,
2008 at 7:30 a.m. ET
Palatin Technologies Announces Extension of Research Collaboration and License Agreement with AstraZeneca Enters into Clinical Trial Sponsored Research Agreement
Cranbury, NJ December 9, 2008
Palatin Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:PTN) today announced an extension of its exclusive
research collaboration and license agreement with AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) to discover,
develop and commercialize compounds that target melanocortin receptors and the signing of
a clinical trial sponsored research agreement.
Under the extension to the license
agreement, Palatin will receive an upfront payment of $1.6 million and AstraZeneca has
been granted licenses to additional compounds and patents. Additionally, the research
collaboration term has been extended, with Palatin contributing scientific expertise and
AstraZeneca supporting Palatin s internal activities at an agreed full-time
Under the clinical trial sponsored
research agreement, Palatin will be responsible for conducting a study of the effects of
melanocortin receptor specific compounds on food intake, obesity and other metabolic
Palatin will be eligible, in the near
future, for milestone payments totaling $5 million in connection with the collaboration
and license agreement.
The license extension and
clinical trial agreements point to the progress Palatin and AstraZeneca have made with
their collaborative melanocortin receptor obesity program, stated Stephen T. Wills,
Palatin s EVP of Operations and CFO. Of the total $6.6 million due from
AstraZeneca, we anticipate receiving $4.1 million by December 31, 2008 and the remaining
$2.5 million in the first quarter of calendar year 2009. This $6.6 million, coupled with
$1.7 million that Palatin received this month from the sale of net operating losses to the
State of New Jersey, $700,000 from the sale of non-core fixed assets, and a cash and cash
equivalents balance of $8.1 million at September 30, 2008, gives Palatin sufficient cash
to fund its projected operations through calendar year 2009.
Under terms of the original
collaboration and license agreement signed in January 2007, Palatin received an upfront
payment of $10 million from AstraZeneca and is eligible for milestone payments totalling
$300 million, with up to $180 million contingent upon development and regulatory
milestones and the balance on achievement of sales targets, together with the payment of
stepped royalties on product sales to double digit rates, dependent on sales achieved.
AstraZeneca is responsible for product commercialization, product discovery and
The rate of obesity, a chronic
disease in which a person s body weight is seriously greater than is considered
healthy, has substantially increased over the past decade impacting millions of
people worldwide and is expected to continue to grow. Today, over 1.1 billion
150 million children worldwide are
overweight, with over 300 million adults categorized as obese. According to the American
Obesity Association, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death after
smoking and nearly one-third of adults in the United States are obese. Obesity is
associated with a number of serious conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, high
blood pressure, and diabetes. Americans spend almost $120 billion on medical and related
costs of obesity according to the U.S. Surgeon General. Developing an effective
therapeutic to address this serious condition could help save billions of dollars as well
as millions of lives.
Palatin Technologies, Inc. is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing targeted,
receptor-specific small molecule and peptide therapeutics. Palatin s strategy is to
develop products and then form marketing collaborations with industry leaders in order to
maximize their commercial potential. For additional information regarding Palatin, please
visit Palatin Technologies website at http://www.palatin.com.
AstraZeneca is a major international
healthcare business engaged in research, development, manufacturing and marketing of
prescription pharmaceuticals and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of
the world s leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of US $29.55
billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory,
oncology and infection product sales. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. For more information visit
Statements about future expectations
of Palatin Technologies, Inc., including statements about its development programs,
proposed indications for its product candidates, pre-clinical activities, marketing
collaborations, and all other statements in this document other than historical facts, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and as that term is
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Palatin intends that such
forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Palatin s
actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to Palatin s ability to
fund development of its technology, ability to establish and successfully complete
clinical trials and pre-clinical studies and the results of those trials and studies,
dependence on its partners for certain development activities, need for regulatory
approvals and commercial acceptance of its products, ability to protect its intellectual
property, and other factors discussed in the Palatin s periodic filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Palatin is not responsible for updating for events
that occur after the date of this press release.
| Palatin Technologies Investor Inquiries: | Palatin Technologies Media Inquiries: |
| Stephen T. Wills, CPA, MST | Susan Kim, Burns McClellan |
| EVP-Operations / Chief Financial Officer | Tel: (212) 213-0006 |
| Tel: (609) 495-2200/ info@palatin.com | skim@burnsmc.com |