AMED Amedeo Res

RNS No 5273a
CHIROSCIENCE GROUP PLC
7th September 1998


                                  
          CHIROSCIENCE AND MARUISHI TO DEVELOP CHIROCAINE
                              IN JAPAN
                                  
Chiroscience  Group  plc  announces that  it  has  entered  into  an
agreement  with  Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd for the  development
and   marketing  rights  to  its  long  acting  local   anaesthetic,
Chirocaine, for Japan.
 
Under  the licensing agreement Maruishi will conduct the development
and registration of a series of products and formulations containing
levobupivacaine  exclusively  for  the  Japanese  market.   Clinical
trials  in  Japan are expected to commence in 1999.   Maruishi  will
gain  exclusive  rights  to  market products  under  the  Chirocaine
trademark  in  Japan.  Maruishi will have the right  to  manufacture
levobupivacaine  in  Japan,  although  Chiroscience  will  initially
manufacture and supply levobupivacaine to them.
 
Maruishi will make access payments amounting to #3.25m, as  well  as
undisclosed  milestone payments and will fully fund the  development
of  Chirocaine  in Japan. Maruishi will invest in new drug  delivery
techniques for levobupivacine.  Chiroscience will gain royalties  on
all sales of Chirocaine, other financial terms and royalty rates are
not being disclosed.
 
As  announced  on  31 March 1998, Chirocaine has  been  licensed  to
Zeneca for marketing by them in all territories other than Japan.
 
Chirocaine   is  a  long  acting  local  anaesthetic  developed   by
Chiroscience for use in a wide range of surgical procedures, as well
in  pain  relief during childbirth or following surgery.  Chirocaine
(levobupivacaine)  has  been  selected  to  maintain  the  desirable
potency of the currently favoured anaesthetic (bupivacaine) but with
a  much improved safety profile in terms of reduced side effects  on
the  heart and the brain.  Chirocaine was submitted in December 1997
for  registration to the Swedish regulatory authorities  and  Sweden
will  act  as  rapporteur in the European Union mutual  registration
process.  Submission to the FDA in the USA took place in April 1998.
 
Dr John Padfield, Chief Executive of Chiroscience, said:
"We  have  built  up  a strong relationship with  Maruishi  who  are
specialists  in  anaesthesia in Japan, where  they  are  the  market
leaders.   They  will  make  an  excellent  marketing  partner   for
Chirocaine and have a good track record in developing and maximising
the sales potential of innovative anaesthetic products."
 
Mr Nobuyuki Inoue, President of Maruishi Pharmaceutical, said:
"We  are very pleased with this deal and have high expectations  for
Chirocaine  products in the Japanese market.  We  believe  that  the
superior properties of Chirocaine will allow us to develop  a  range
of  products,  and will facilitate the increased  use  of  safe  and
effective  regional  anaesthesia in  Japanese  hospitals.   We  look
forward  to  working  closely  with Chiroscience  on  this  exciting
project."
 
For further information contact:
 
Dr John Padfield, Chief Executive
Christine Soden, Finance Director
Rebecca Iveson, Media and Investor Relations
Tel:+44 (0) 1223 420430
http://www.chiroscience.com
 
Giles Sanderson, Financial Dynamics
Tel:+44 (0) 171 8313113
 
 
NOTES TO EDITORS
 
Chiroscience Group plc
Chiroscience  Group plc is an emerging pharmaceutical company  which
uses  its diverse technology platform to discover, develop and bring
to  market  novel medicines for improved healthcare.  It  has  three
businesses: Chiroscience R&D, Rapigene and ChiroTech.
 
Chiroscience R&D's focus is on innovative small molecule  drugs  and
related   diagnostics   in   the  therapeutic   areas   of   cancer,
inflammation,  pain,  osteoporosis  and  autoimmune  diseases.   Its
technology  platform  allows  the  conception  and  development   of
receptor-based and enzyme-inhibiting small molecule drugs with  high
selectivity of action.
 
Rapigene  is  involved in the creation of genomic  technologies  and
services,  which  it  provides  to  Chiroscience  R&D  and   partner
companies' drug discovery programmes.
 
ChiroTech provides chiral technology services to pharmaceutical  and
related  industries, including Chiroscience R&D.  It has created  an
integrated   chiral  technology  and  manufacturing  business   with
Mitchell Cotts Chemicals Ltd, whose parent company, Ascot plc, has a
30% shareholding in ChiroTech.
 
Chiroscience Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is
based in Cambridge and Stevenage, UK, and Seattle, Washington, USA.
 
Chirocaine
Chirocaine is the trade name for levobupivacaine, a new drug derived
from  the established anaesthetic bupivacaine.  Pre-clinical studies
have  shown that Chirocaine is as potent as bupivacaine, but  has  a
significantly superior safety profile in its action on the heart and
central nervous system.  The good efficacy and safety profiles  have
been  confirmed in over 25 phase III clinical trials which have been
completed in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand Denmark and
The  Netherlands.   In trials completed to date approximately  1,000
patients have been exposed to levobupivacaine.
 
The  number  of  surgical procedures carried out using  long  acting
local   anaesthetics  is  predicted  to  increase  from  45  million
worldwide  in  1997  (with an estimated value of  $250  million)  to
around 80 million in 10 years ($750 million - $1 billion), driven by
a growth in surgery and pain management (acute and chronic).
 
The  trials programme for Chirocaine has been designed to enable its
use  in  pain  management, both post-operatively and for intractable
pain.    An  extensive  patent  protection  programme  includes   24
applications,  covering process, use and formulation,  a  number  of
which  have  already  proceeded to grant.  This  will  allow  patent
protection to 2014 and beyond.
 
Maruishi
 
Maruishi Pharmacceutical Co. Ltd is the leading anaesthetic  company
in  Japan  with   total sales of 25,052 million Yen in  1997.   They
developed the general anaesthetic Sevofrane (sevoflurane) which  was
launched  in  1990 in Japan and was licensed to Abbott  for  markets
outside   Asia  and  Japan.    Sevofrane  is  the  leading   selling
anaesthetic  in Japan, with a 71% share of the Japanese  market  for
inhaled  anaesthetic  and  it  is now the  leading  selling  inhaled
general  anaesthetic worldwide.   Maruishi is based in new corporate
offices in Osaka and invested 1,430 million Yen in R&D in 1997.
 

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