ProMetic Life Sciences, AlphaOne Pharmaceuticals Create Joint Venture Company to Develop AAT

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (Montreal, Canada) and AlphaOne Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Alameda, CA) have established a joint venture company. The new company, based in Montreal, will develop Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), manufactured as a recombinant protein from yeast for the worldwide commercialization of various pharmaceuticals for dermatological (atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, genital herpes, wound healing), gastrointestinal (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease), and urinary tract indications.

Although AAT has been proven effective in treating several inflammatory conditions, its use has been restricted due to the limited availability of the product. Currently available AAT is extracted from human plasma; this limited source restricts treatment to a small number of patients suffering from hereditary emphysema. The AlphaOne-ProMetic joint venture will enable a large production capacity of AAT and the production of various pharmaceutical formulations to meet these unsatisfied market demands.

AlphaOne Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will contribute its proprietary know-how to the new company, in the bulk production of serine protease inhibitors from yeast expression systems and exclusive worldwide patents for AAT and other serine proteases. ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. through its subsidiary, ProMetic BioSciences Inc., will contribute its proprietary know-how and worldwide patent coverage in the extraction and purification of biopharmaceuticals such as AAT.

ProMetic BioSciences Inc. also has expertise in scaling up protein production and downstream purification, a process that takes place in Montreal. ProMetic Life Sciences Inc., through its pharmaceutical division ProMetic Pharma Inc., will contribute formulation know-how and scale up manufacturing capabilities. ProMetic Pharma owns two cGMP-manufacturing facilities able to manufacture injectable and non-injectable pharmaceuticals.

The joint venture company will assess on a product by product basis whether it will develop and commercialize these products either directly or through an alliance with major pharmaceutical companies. AlphaOne-ProMetic will be managed by a board of directors from both AlphaOne Pharmaceuticals and ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.

AlphaOne Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company.

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc., is an integrated pharmaceutical company which develops, manufactures and markets sterile injectable and non-injectable pharmaceutical products.

For more information: Pierre Laurin, Chairman and CEO, ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.Tel: 514-496-2115.