News | February 20, 2013

Thallion And LFB Terminate Shigamabs Collaboration

Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX-V: TLN) ("Thallion") and LFB Biotechnologies ("LFB") today announced that they have reached an agreement on the termination of their Development and Licensing Agreement related to Thallion's Shigamabs® program. All rights to the program will revert back to Thallion including all data, materials and know-how developed by and for LFB during the collaboration. LFB will cease to have any rights to the Shigamabs® program and all future quarterly payments due to Thallion by LFB in support of Shigamabs® development will terminate. LFB will pay for all outstanding and accrued costs related to product manufacturing and Thallion will be responsible for all remaining costs associated with the completion of the SHIGATEC Phase II clinical study.
"Thallion has been an excellent partner in this program and Shigamabs® could be an important product for alleviating the suffering of the thousands of patients infected by STEC each year," said Guillaume Bologna, executive VP of LFB Biotechnologies for development & business development. "Despite our strong collaboration, an internal pipeline prioritization necessitated a reallocation of our resources. We wish Thallion much success in the future."
 "While we are disappointed with the early termination of the LFB collaboration, we understand LFB's decision to reprioritize their product portfolio in these challenging economic times. We thank our LFB colleagues for their valuable contributions to the advancement of the Shigamabs® clinical program," said Dr. Allan Mandelzys, CEO of Thallion. We will now focus on completing the long term safety evaluation of our patients and close out the SHIGATEC trial in the second quarter, while initiating efforts towards securing a new development partner for this asset."


About Shigamabs®
Shigamabs® consists of two monoclonal antibodies designed to bind specifically and exclusively to the Shiga toxin 1 and Shiga toxin 2 toxins secreted by Shiga toxin- producing E. coli bacteria. STEC infections are primarily foodborne bacterial infections that cause serious health complications, particularly in young children and the elderly, and affect approximately 314,000 people annually in the industrialized world. There are no approved products available for the treatment of STEC infections. The Shigamabs® antibodies, administered as a single intravenous infusion, bind to their respective toxin and neutralize them by forming a complex that is absorbed and destroyed by the liver and spleen. The dual antibody approach enables Shigamabs® to address STEC infections caused by E. coli secreting either Shiga toxin 1, Shiga toxin 2 or both Shiga toxins. Shigamabs® has obtained orphan drug designation both in the U.S. and in Europe

About Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX-V: TLN) is a biotechnology company developing pharmaceutical products in the areas of infectious disease and oncology. The Company's clinical programs include Shigamabs® and TLN-4601, a novel anti-cancer therapy. Shigamabs® is a dual antibody product being evaluated in a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli bacterial infections. Additional information about Thallion can be obtained at www.thallion.com.

About LFB Biotechnologies
LFB Biotechnologies is a subsidiary of LFB Group dedicated to research and development. LFB is a biopharmaceutical group that develops, manufactures and markets medicinal products for the treatment of serious and often rare diseases in several major therapeutic fields, namely Hemostasis, Immunology and Intensive Care. The LFB Group is the leading manufacturer of plasma-derived medicinal products in France and 6th worldwide and is also among the leading European companies for the development of new-generation proteins and treatments based on biotechnologies. LFB Group's turnover was €466 million in 2012. For more information, visit the LFB website at http://www.lfb.fr/

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believe", "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect Thallion's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, risks relating to the development of the Shigamabs® clinical program. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Thallion undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable Canadian securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Source: Thallion Pharma