Santaris Pharma A/S resumes full ownership of cancer programs licensed to Enzon Pharmaceutical Inc.

HOERSHOLM, Denmark and SAN DIEGO, Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today announced that the Company and its long term partner, Enzon Pharmaceutical Inc., have agreed that all rights, data, products and intellectual properties relating to Enzon Pharmaceutical Inc.'s LNA programs, developed under a license from Santaris Pharma A/S, will revert to Santaris Pharma A/S. Further Enzon Pharmaceutical Inc. will transfer an undisclosed amount to Santaris Pharma A/S.

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Henrik Stage, President & CEO at Santaris Pharma A/S stated: "We have been very pleased with the collaboration and are excited to resume full ownership of these important cancer programs, of which several are under clinical development."  

About Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform
The LNA Drug Platform and Drug Discovery Engine developed by Santaris Pharma A/S combines the company's proprietary LNA chemistry with its highly specialized and targeted drug development capabilities to rapidly deliver LNA-based drug candidates against RNA targets, both mRNA and microRNA, for a range of diseases including cardiometabolic disorders, infectious and inflammatory diseases, cancer and rare genetic disorders. LNA is also sometimes referred to as BNA (Bicyclic or Bridged Nucleic Acid).  LNA-based drugs are a promising new class of therapeutics that enable scientists to develop drugs that work through previously inaccessible clinical pathways. The LNA Drug Platform overcomes the limitations of earlier antisense and siRNA technologies to deliver potent,single-stranded, LNA-based drug candidates across a multitude of disease states. The unique combination of small size and very high affinity allows this new class of drugs candidates to potently and specifically inhibit RNA targets in many different tissues without the need for complex delivery vehicles. The most important features of LNA-based drugs include excellent specificity providing optimal targeting; increased affinity to targets providing improved potency; and favorable pharmacokinetic and tissue-penetrating properties that allow systemic delivery of these drugs without complex and potentially troublesome delivery vehicles.

About Santaris Pharma A/S
Santaris Pharma A/S is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies. The Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform and Drug Discovery Engine developed by Santaris Pharma A/S combine the company's proprietary LNA chemistry with its highly specialized and targeted drug development capabilities to rapidly deliver potent single-stranded LNA-based drug candidates across a multitude of disease states. The company's research and development activities focus on infectious diseases and cardiometabolic disorders, while partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies address a range of therapeutic areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious and inflammatory diseases, and rare genetic disorders. The company has strategic partnerships with RaNA Therapeutics, Bristol-Myers Squibb, miRagen Therapeutics, Shire plc., Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Enzon Pharmaceuticals. As part of its broad patent estate, the company holds exclusive worldwide rights to manufacture and sell products that comprise LNA as active ingredient for studies performed with a view to obtaining marketing approval. Santaris Pharma A/S, founded in 2003, is headquartered in Denmark with operations in the United States. Please visit www.santaris.com for more information.

Santaris Pharma A/S^® is a registered trademark of Santaris Pharma A/S. Santaris^TM , Santaris Pharma^TM , Cureon^TM and LNA-antimiR™ are trademarks of Santaris Pharma A/S.

About Enzon
Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company that had been dedicated to the research and development of innovative therapeutics for patients with high unmet medical needs. Enzon receives royalty revenues on seven marketed products that utilize its proprietary Customized PEGylation Linker Technology (Customized Linker Technology®) platform, namely PegIntron®, Sylatron®, Macugen®, CIMZIA®, OMONTYS®, Oncaspar and Adagen.

Further information about Enzon can be found on the Company's website at www.enzon.com.

SOURCE Santaris Pharma A/S

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