Baxter and Jerini advance program to develop non-intravenous haemophil...( Deerfield Ill. and Berlin Germany Ba...),Health

"Using our proprietary technology platform, we continue to make important progress in our collaboration with Baxter, the leader in hemophilia therapy," said Jens Schneider-Mergener, Jerini AG's chief executive officer. "We are encouraged by the identification of these molecules and the evaluation of the potential to treat hemophilia using a non-intravenous therapy with molecules that can be synthetically produced."

Scientists from Baxter and Jerini used proprietary tailored screening and analysis methods to design molecules with the ability to promote the coagulation of blood. Following further analysis, several principal molecules that showed promising activity in mouse models of hemophilia were selected for further development.

Because blood-clotting proteins are large, relatively unstable molecules, current hemophilia therapies can only be administered intravenously, which is an invasive and technically demanding procedure. It is presently not possible to administer these molecules by non-intravenous routes because of poor distribution or rapid inactivation of the molecule in the body. Therefore, potential non-intravenous therapy must be able to reach its target site quickly and effectively without being inactivated in the process.

"We are very pleased by the progress to date in this collaboration with Jerini," said Friedrich Scheiflinger, PhD, senior director of discovery research and technical assessment for Baxter's BioScience business. "This partnership builds on Baxter's rich history of innovation in hemophilia therapy development and underscores our long-term commitment to improving therapies for peo
'"/>

Contact: Deborah Spak
847-948-2349
Sant Communications
19-Jun-2006