Digna in press

May 8, 2008

Digna Biotech and Aachen Resonance signed an agreement for the joint development of drug eluting devices.

Aachen Resonance, a company based in Aachen (Germany) that manufactures devices for interventional surgery, and Digna Biotech, a biotechnology company of Pamplona (Spain), announce the recent signature of an agreement for the joint development of drug eluting devices. The first product in development is a drug eluting stent. Stents are implantable cylinder-shaped meshes used to correct stenosis or a narrowing of blood vessels. One of the most frequent complications derived from implanted stents is restenosis in which a new narrowing of the vessel occurs, usually as a result of an inflammatory response to the device. To attenuate this problem drug eluting stents have been marketed for several years with less than optimal results.

Digna will contribute to the partnership its TGF beta-1 inhibitors with proven capacity to inhibit fibrosis in pathological process such as restenosis. Aachen will contribute its proprietary technologies in stent polymer coating and its commercial and manufacturing capabilities in the field. Both companies have already developed a stent coated with Digna Biotech’s peptides. They have also initiated the required studies to obtain data that will prove the safety and efficacy of this stents in inhibiting restenosis, initially in animal models and later on in humans. If the partners are successful, Aachen will obtain an exclusive license to market the product in the European market. In other markets both companies will cooperate in the search for licensees and will share the revenues derived from such license agreements.

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