PRESS RELEASE: AbCheck Antibody Discovery Agreement with U3 Pharma

AbCheck s.r.o. / AbCheck Antibody Discovery Agreement with U3 Pharma . Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Plzen, Czech Republic; February 18th, 2013: AbCheck s.r.o., the multi antibody discovery platforms company, announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration with U3 Pharma GmbH, based in Martinsried, Germany. U3 Pharma is the antibody targeted cancer drug development affiliate of Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., one of the top 20 leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Under the agreement AbCheck will use its AbSieve discovery platform, which combines the Company's proprietary phage and yeast display technologies, to deliver antibodies against an undisclosed number of U3 Pharma targets. U3 Pharma, which has full rights to any antibodies selected, will pay AbCheck discovery fees and milestone payments. Other financial and deal terms are not disclosed.

"The selection of AbCheck by U3 Pharma is very important to us," said Dr. Volker Lang, Managing Director of AbCheck. "Entering into a research collaboration with the Company, a recognized specialist in innovative antibody-based therapeutics, further underlines the quality of AbCheck's antibody discovery technologies and efficient processes that ensure the delivery of high quality GMP ready antibodies. Furthermore, this deal once again validates our exceptional business model, which has now been proven through partnerships with both pharma and biotech companies throughout the US and Europe."

Dr. Shoji Hirashima, CEO and Managing Director of U3 Pharma said: "AbCheck has a well-established technology-platform and defined processes for antibody drug discovery. We believe we will identify good drug candidate antibodies more efficiently through this collaboration with AbCheck."

About AbCheck AbCheck s.r.o. focuses on the discovery and/or optimization of human antibodies for partner companies. AbSieve, the combined phage and yeast display platforms, is used to develop antibodies in all antibody formats including full length IgGs as well as customer specific and novel antibody formats. AbAccel, a proprietary algorithm for affinity maturation and optimization, is combined with Phage or Yeast Display and addresses affinity maturation, developability and stability optimization of antibodies in just one step. Antibodies generated by AbCheck's AbSieve and AbAccel platforms have extremely high specificities and affinities, they are "GMP ready" and have improved drugability. Furthermore, the use of Yeast display allows the screening in the final antibody drug format. AbCheck has entered into several partnerships and is recognized for its expertise in antibody discovery throughout the US and Europe.

About U3 Pharma U3 Pharma GmbH, based in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, is a leader in targeted cancer drug development. Established in July 2001, the company has produced a pipeline of novel targeted therapeutics based on the ground-breaking discoveries made by its founder - Professor Axel Ullrich.

Since May 2008, U3 Pharma has been an affiliate of Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., one of the top 20 leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide and No. 3 in Japan. Being part of this global environment, U3 Pharma is striving to provide patients around the world with innovative antibody-based therapeutics.

About Daiichi Sankyo The Daiichi Sankyo Group is dedicated to the creation and supply of innovative pharmaceutical products to address the diversified, unmet medical needs of patients in both mature and emerging markets. While maintaining its portfolio of marketed pharmaceuticals for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and bacterial infections, the Group is engaged in the development of treatments for thrombotic disorders and focused on the discovery of novel oncology and cardiovascular- metabolic therapies. Furthermore, the Daiichi Sankyo Group has created a "Hybrid Business Model," which will respond to market and customer diversity and optimize growth opportunities across the value chain. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com.

For further information:

AbCheck s.r.o. MC Services AG

Dr. Volker Lang Anne Hennecke Managing Director Managing Partner

Phone: +420 378 051500 Phone: +49 89 210 228 18 Fax: +420 378 051506 Fax: +49 89 210 228 88 Email: V.Lang@abcheck.eu Email: anne.hennecke@mc-services.eu

Press Release (PDF): http://hugin.info/143842/R/1678934/548127.pdf

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Source: AbCheck s.r.o. via Thomson Reuters ONE [HUG#1678934]

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   February 18, 2013 04:26 ET (09:26 GMT)- - 04 26 AM EST 02-18-13