RUSNANO continues to invest in biomedicine

RUSNANO and the American company Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLI) have signed an agreement to finance a new division of CBLI – Panacela Labs, Inc., which will focus on the development of a number of promising drugs, starting from the preclinical research stage.

Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. is a research company that uses its proprietary discoveries in the field of programmed cell death to create anti–cancer drugs and increase the resistance of healthy tissues to radiation and other influences. The company has a strategic relationship with the Oncological Institute named after Roswell Park, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the Australian Institute of Pediatric Oncology, the ChemBridge Company and the Institute of Radiobiological Research of the US Armed Forces.
Additional information is available on the company's website.

Panacela Labs, Inc. is registered in Buffalo, New York, USA and fully owns a subsidiary of Panacela Labs LLC, registered in Moscow. The Russian subsidiary will focus on preclinical and clinical research, registration of medicines for the Russian market, and in the future – on the production of medicines on a commercial scale.

As part of the agreement, RUSNANO will invest up to $26 million in the new company over four years. The volume of RUSNANO's initial investments after the conclusion of the agreement will amount to $9 million. The receipt of the next three tranches depends on success at key stages of drug development and attracting new investors to the project.

Cleveland BioLabs and other intellectual property owners – Cancer Institute named after Roswell Park, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Australian Institute of Pediatric Oncology will transfer intellectual property rights related to a certain number of compounds to Panacela. Cleveland BioLabs is also investing $3 million in the new company. The first transaction is scheduled to take place on or around September 30, 2011. After the first closing of the transaction, Cleveland BioLabs will receive a 55% stake in Panacela, and RUSNANO - 24%.

Panacela is being given a portfolio of five compounds – promising drug candidates developed under the guidance of a Doctor of Biological Sciences, Director of Science at Cleveland BioLabs and Senior Vice President for Basic Research at the Cancer Institute. Andrey Gudkov's Roswell Park.

• Mobilan is a drug based on an adenovirus vector that induces an immune response against cancer. The compound has demonstrated its effectiveness in preliminary preclinical studies and is prepared to undergo a formal program of preclinical studies.
• Revercom is a combination of a chemotherapeutic agent with an inhibitor of the MRP1 cellular transport system responsible for multidrug resistance. This combination drug, which increases the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy, is also prepared to undergo a formal program of preclinical studies.
• Xenomycins are a family of compounds for the local and systemic treatment of infectious diseases. The compounds have shown their effectiveness in in vitro and in vivo experiments against many pathogens, such as malaria plasmodium, trypanosome, herpes virus, etc.
• Antimycons are a family of inhibitors of the Myc universal cancer protein, which is one of the most versatile targets for anticancer therapy. Chemical optimization of the active principle (hit-to-lead optimization) is currently being performed. The aim of the development is targeted therapy of several types of cancer.
• Arkils are new androgen receptor inhibitors designed to treat prostate cancer. Prepared for chemical optimization of the active principle.

Under the terms of the agreement, the first market to which the drugs that have passed clinical trials and registration will be launched will be the Russian one. After the launch of innovative drugs in Russia, Panacela intends to bring them to the world market, including in the USA.

"Our strength is research and development," said Michael Fonstein, CEO and president of Cleveland Biolabs, "so we strive to put scientific achievements on the conveyor that can open up new opportunities for therapy. We are very pleased that RUSNANO is becoming our key partner on this path."

"The biopharmaceutical industry is one of the priorities for RUSNANO," said Dmitry Lisenkov, Managing Director of RUSNANO, "therefore, a project with such a promising biotechnology company as CBLI is of great importance to us. Our joint venture, Panacela, will bring to Russia the world's leading experience in the development of cost-effective and socially significant drugs for the Russian and global markets"

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to the materials of the press service of ROSNANAO

26.09.2011