Repligen Licenses Rights to Use of HDAC3 Inhibitors for Memory Disorders

WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Repligen Corporation (Nasdaq: RGEN) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for a patent application covering the use of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibitors for the treatment of disorders involving preservation or extinction of memory including Alzheimer's disease, memory impairment and post traumatic stress disorder.  The patent application is based on work conducted at UCI by Dr. Marcelo A. Wood, which demonstrated that one of Repligen's HDAC3 inhibitors improved both the acquisition and persistence of long-term memory in an animal model.  These data were published in the January 12th issue of The Journal of Neuroscience in a manuscript entitled "HDAC3 Is a Critical Negative Regulator of Long-Term Memory Formation" (McQuown, S., et al., J. Neurosci. (2011) 31:764 –774).  Under the terms of the license agreement, UCI will receive an upfront payment, development milestones and royalties upon successful commercialization of an HDAC3 inhibitor for certain memory disorders.  Upon issue, the patent will remain in force until 2031 prior to any regulatory extensions.

"These new data indicate that HDAC3 inhibitors should be further evaluated for use in a variety of disorders in which the acquisition or extinction of a long-term memory is a factor," stated Walter C. Herlihy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Repligen Corporation.  "We intend to continue to investigate the potential of our selective HDAC3 inhibitors in a variety of disease models."

The manuscript published in The Journal of Neuroscience examined the role of HDAC3 inhibitors in long-term memory using a combined genetic and pharmacologic approach.  In the study, a genetic approach was used to delete HDAC3 in the hippocampus of normal mice.  These mice showed improved acquisition of long-term memory which persisted longer than in control mice.  Similar results were seen when normal mice were treated with a proprietary Repligen compound which inhibits HDAC3.  The authors conclude that the "results suggest that HDAC3 deletion leads to long-term memory formation that is persistent and lasts beyond the point at which normal long-term memory fails."

About the University of California Irvine

Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service.  Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff.  Orange County's largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.9 billion.  For more UCI news, visit http://today.uci.edu/news/.

About Repligen Corporation

Repligen Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on building an integrated company by developing and marketing innovative drugs that deliver the benefits of protein therapies in the fields of neurology and gastroenterology.  We have a core competency in the development and manufacturing of biologics products, which is the basis for our bioprocessing business and we have out-licensed certain biologics intellectual property, which provide ongoing sources of revenue.  Repligen's corporate headquarters are located at 41 Seyon Street, Building #1, Suite 100, Waltham, MA 02453.  Additional information may be requested at www.repligen.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial performance and position, management's strategy, plans and objectives for future operations, plans and objectives for product development, plans and objectives for present and future clinical trials and results of such trials, plans and objectives for regulatory approval, litigation, intellectual property protection, product development, manufacturing plans and performance, projected changes in the size of our markets, our market share and product sales and other statements identified by words like "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "seek," or "could" and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation, risks associated with: the success of our clinical trials; our ability to develop and commercialize products; our ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; the success of current and future collaborative relationships; the market acceptance of our products; our ability to compete with larger, better financed pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; new approaches to the treatment of our targeted diseases; our expectation of incurring continued losses; our uncertainty of product revenues and profits; our ability to generate future revenues; our ability to raise additional capital to continue our drug development programs; our compliance with all Food and Drug Administration regulations; our ability to obtain; maintain and protect intellectual property rights for our products; the risk of litigation regarding our intellectual property rights; our limited sales and manufacturing capabilities; our dependence on third-party manufacturers and value added resellers; our ability to hire and retain skilled personnel; our volatile stock price; and other risks detailed in Repligen's annual report on Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the other reports that Repligen periodically files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those Repligen contemplated by these forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements reflect management's current views and Repligen does not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof except as required by law.

SOURCE Repligen Corporation