LAUSANNE, Switzerland and BANGALORE, India: Debiopharm Group(TM) (Debiopharm), a global biopharmaceutical development specialist that focuses on serious medical conditions and particularly oncology, and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd (Aurigene), a Bangalore-based drug discovery company, signed on March 23, 2011 an option and exclusive worldwide license agreement concerning the development and commercialisation of Debio 1142, a novel inhibitor of an undisclosed oncology pathway.

"We are very excited about this new collaboration with Aurigene. Their business model offers a one stop solution for structure guided drug design, lead optimisation and preclinical work. The Debio 1142 project aims at developing inhibitors targeting a key oncology pathway, which plays essential roles in various solid tumours, including resistance to chemotherapy" said Dr Rolland-Yves Mauvernay, president and founder of Debiopharm S.A.

"Coming as it does after a successful collaboration programme we already had with Debiopharm, and as a continuation of our close to 5 year association, the relationship between Debiopharm and Aurigene demonstrates the strategic fit between organisations with complimentary scientific skills. We are happy that we have the opportunity to continue to work with Debiopharm, in a unique business model that has been tailor-made to meet each partners' needs" added CSN Murthy, CEO of Aurigene.

About Debiopharm Group

Debiopharm Group(TM) (Debiopharm) is a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies with a focus on the development of prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs. The group in-licenses, develops and/or co-develops promising biological and small molecule drug candidates having reached clinical development phases I, II or III as well as earlier stage candidates. It develops its products for global registration and maximum commercial potential. The products are out-licensed to pharmaceutical partners for sales and marketing. Debiopharm Group is also active in the field of companion diagnostics with a view to progressing in the area of personalised medicine. Debiopharm independently funds the worldwide development of all of its products while providing expertise in pre-clinical and clinical trials, manufacturing, drug delivery and formulation, and regulatory affairs. For more information on Debiopharm Group(TM), please visit: http://www.debiopharm.com.

About Aurigene

Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited is a Bangalore-based biotech focused on collaborative drug discovery with pharmaceutical and biotech companies on a risk-sharing basis. Aurigene has fully integrated drug discovery infrastructure, from Target to IND, along with strong in house structural biology and fragment based drug design capabilities. The company is engaged in over 20 discovery collaborations with US and European large and mid-pharma companies in Oncology, Inflammatory disorders and anti-infectives. For more information on Aurigene, please visit: http://www.aurigene.com.

    Debiopharm S.A. Contact          Additional Media Contacts
    Maurice Wagner                   In London
    Director Corporate Affairs &     Maitland
    Communication                    Brian Hudspith
    Tel.: +41(0)21-321-01-11         Tel.: +44(0)20-7379-5151
    Fax : +41(0)21-321-01-69         bhudspith@maitland.co.uk
    mwagner@debiopharm.com

                                     In New York
                                     Russo Partners, LLC
                                     Martina Schwarzkopf
                                     Tel. +1-212-845-4292
                                     Fax +1-212-845-4260
                                     martina.schwarzkopf@russopartnersllc.com
    Aurigene Contact
    Karthikeyan Ramakrishnan
    Project Manager
    Aurigene Discovery Technologies
    Limited
    Tel. +91-80-66204338
    karthikeyan_r@aurigene.com

SOURCE Debiopharm Group