Avera Pharmaceuticals - News Archive

Avera Pharmaceuticals Inc. Licenses Compound With Promise In Psychiatry And Neurology From Eli Lilly And Company
SAN DIEGO - December 17, 2002

Avera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a private, development-stage pharmaceutical company, today announced that it has licensed from Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) a novel compound offering great promise for the treatment of such major mental illnesses as depression, schizophrenia, and cognitive disorders.

Under the agreement, Avera has acquired from Lilly the worldwide rights to the compound and supporting intellectual property in exchange for undisclosed upfront, milestone and royalty payments. Avera will be responsible for filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and for the design and execution of a clinical development program to demonstrate human safety and efficacy.

"We are very excited to add this asset to Avera's portfolio and look forward to developing a novel therapeutic that may yield significant advances in the treatment of major brain disorders,” stated Jeffrey McKelvy, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Avera. Added Dr. McKelvy, “Despite a number of high profile advances over the last 15 years, major illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia continue to exhibit significant unmet treatment needs."

Daniel Kisner, M.D., Chairman of the Board for Avera Pharmaceuticals explained, "This deal further advances Avera’s business model of identifying and licensing opportunities that may yield major therapeutic advances in the treatment of neurologic and psychiatric disorders, and clearly demonstrates the Company’s ability to successfully in-license novel compounds from major pharmaceutical companies who are leaders in the neuroscience field."

Avera Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Avera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (San Diego, CA) is a private, emerging pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel compounds in the neuroscience therapeutics arena. The Company's mission is to identify opportunities for therapeutic advances in the treatment of neurologic and psychiatric disorders, and to in-license and develop compounds that can meet these needs. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.averapharm.com.

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