INNOVIVE Pharmaceuticals Licenses Potent Dual Bcr-Abl/Lyn Kinase Inhibitor; Initial Development Target is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

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INNOVIVE Pharmaceuticals Licenses Potent Dual Bcr-Abl/Lyn Kinase Inhibitor;

Initial Development Target is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

1/5/2006 6:58:00 AM EST

INNOVIVE Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in

Manhattan, announced today that it has licensed worldwide development rights

for NS-187 in all countries except Japan, from Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd., a

Kyoto-based pharmaceutical company. INNOVIVE will develop NS-187 for the

treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and anticipates commencing

Phase I trials this year.

NS-187 is an orally bioavailable, rationally designed, dual Bcr-Abl and Lyn

kinase inhibitor. Bcr-Abl is commonly recognized as the primary molecular

target in the treatment of CML. According to a study published in the

journal Blood (Dec. 1, 2005), NS-187 is 25 to 55 times more potent than

imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) in vitro, and at least 10 times as effective

as imatinib mesylate in suppressing the growth of Bcr-Abl bearing tumors.

NS-187 also demonstrated activity in 12 of 13 Gleevec-resistant cell lines.

In addition to its Bcr-Abl inhibitory properties, NS-187 was designed to

inhibit Lyn kinase. Lyn kinase activity is upregulated in some CML patients

when resistance to Gleevec has developed. Lyn kinase activation has also

been documented in a variety of solid tumors, including prostate cancer.

" CML is becoming a chronic condition in which patients will need several

different treatment options. I am very excited about NS-187 because of its

potent inhibition of Bcr-Abl and its specificity for Lyn which could

contribute to a unique efficacy and toxicity profile, " said Hagop M.

Kantarjian, M.D., chairman of the Department of Leukemia at the M.D.

Cancer Center.

" We are pleased to add NS-187 to INNOVIVE's oncology pipeline. The compound

shows great promise over existing treatments for CML, " said ,

president and chief executive officer, INNOVIVE Pharmaceuticals Inc.

" Nippon Shinyaku is confident that NS-187 will be professionally and

responsibly developed by INNOVIVE. We look forward to the drug's progress so

it can help the thousands of people worldwide diagnosed each year with CML, "

said Kazuto Hatsuyama, president, Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd.

About CML

Chronic myelogenous leukemia is a slow-growing form of leukemia, a cancer of

the bone marrow and blood. It starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone

marrow and can spread to a variety of organs. CML is capable of changing to

acute leukemia, which is fast growing and can spread to any organ in the

body. Approximately 4,300 people are diagnosed with CML each year in the

United States, and 1,700 die each year from the disease. The current

prevalence of CML in the United States is estimated at over 20,000. This

figure is expected to grow significantly as the recent approval of Bcr-Abl

inhibitors has increased survival by many years. The most common first line

treatment of CML is imatinib mesylate. Even with this powerful new agent,

imatinib mesylate resistant and refractory patients occur at a rate of 4-13%

of the treated population per year.

About INNOVIVE Pharmaceuticals

INNOVIVE Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company

headquartered in New York. The company's mission is to acquire, develop and

commercialize novel therapeutics addressing significant unmet medical needs

in the fields of oncology and hematology. INNOVIVE currently is developing

INNO-105, a naturally occurring peptide that inhibits cell growth and

division by interacting with OGFr, a unique receptor found on the nuclear

membrane of a wide range of malignant cells. The company recently announced

it had enrolled the first patients in a Phase I clinical trial of INNO-105

in adult patients with advanced solid malignancies. For additional

information visit www.innovivepharma.com.

About Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd.

Nippon Shinyaku, based in Kyoto, Japan, was founded in 1919 and is an

R & D-oriented pharmaceutical company specializing in the development,

manufacture, and sale of ethical drugs for the treatment of urological,

inflammatory and allergic diseases and hematological malignancies. Nippon

Shinyaku currently employs about 1800 employees and the total revenue in

fiscal 2005 is reported about US$500 million. For additional information,

please visit www.nippon-shinyaku.co.jp.