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Paris, France. May 22, 2008 : Biocortech to Present at the European EPIC Conference

Biocortech, a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of new treatments for psychiatric disorders, announced that Raymond Price, PhD, Manager of Scientific Development, will present today at 12:10 pm BST at the annual EPIC Conference in London, England - a biotechnology conference which showcases over 60 UK and European biotechnology companies. Dr Price will present a corporate overview as well as partnering opportunities and goals for 2008/2009.

We are excited to have an opportunity to present at this important European conference and explore opportunities for partnerships with the investment and pharmaceutical communities,. said Dr. Price.

About Biocortech
Biocortech is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of novel biomarkers and treatments for psychiatric disorders. Biocortech has proprietary assays and technologies to identify biomarkers and develop compounds that can safely and effectively identify and treat diseases such as depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and cognitive deficits. Biocortech has a strong clinical advisory group and drug development capabilities, enabling us to move diagnostic platforms and drugs into humans quickly and efficiently. Biocortech is based in Paris, France.
www.biocortech.com


Paris, France. May 22, 2008  : Biocortech to Present at the C21 Bioventures Conference

Biocortech, a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of new treatments for psychiatric disorders, announced that Dinah Weissmann, PharmD, PhD, President and CEO, will present today at the annual C21 Bioventures Conference in San Francisco, California. Dr Weissmann will present at 11:45 am PDT, and will provide the audience with a general update on Biocortech.s progress on its therapeutic programs and biomarker platform, as well as its goals for 2008/2009.

We are excited to have an opportunity to present at this important conference and look forward to providing the investment community with an update on our clinical program for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), as well as other ongoing activities at the company,. stated Dr. Weissmann. .We also expect to move forward with the development of biomarker tests using our novel, proprietary EDIT platform.

About Biocortech
Biocortech is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of novel biomarkers and treatments for psychiatric disorders. Biocortech has proprietary assays and technologies to identify biomarkers and develop compounds that can safely and effectively identify and treat diseases such as depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and cognitive deficits. Biocortech has a strong clinical advisory group and drug development capabilities, enabling us to move diagnostic platforms and drugs into humans quickly and efficiently. Biocortech is based in Paris, France.
www.biocortech.com


Paris, March 10, 2008 : Biocortech Issued Key US Patent for a Small-Molecule Antidepressant

Biocortech announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has approved the issuance of a patent for a family of compounds, including BC-22, under development for the treatment of depression. The patent (Application No 11/581,950) was filed on Oct 13, 2006, and is titled, "Derivatives of 14,15-dihydro 20,21-dinoreburnamenin-14-ol, and applications thereof".

Clinical depression affects more than 20 million American adults each year. Although available antidepressant medications are effective for a large segment of the population with depression, symptoms may continue despite multiple treatment strategies in 10 to 30 percent of those patients. In addition, current treatment strategies also face other issues, such as delayed onset, dose-limiting side effects, and tolerance/dependence. Thus, there is a clear need for novel depression treatments.

Biocortech’s approach to discovering novel antidepressants is built on the clinical evidence that the prefrontal cortex shows hypo-activity in depressed patients, in part due to deficits in the noradrenaline system,

Biocortech has developed tests to measure noradrenergic plasticity and identify compounds (such as BC-22) with therapeutic potential to treat these deficits. Thus, BC22 works via a novel mechanism of action compared with available antidepressants (or any in development).

"The ability to directly address the deficiencies in the prefrontal cortex of depressed patients provides an unprecedented opportunity to treat the underlying disease itself," commented Dinah Weissmann, CEO and founder of Biocortech, "and the clinical experience with our lead compound, BC-19, suggests that we have real potential to change how depression is treated".

Biocortech is beginning pre-clinical testing for submission of an Investigational New Drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for potential approval of BC-22 as a prescription drug.

About Biocortech
Biocortech is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of novel biomarkers and treatments for psychiatric disorders. Biocortech has proprietary assays and technologies to identify biomarkers and develop compounds that can safely and effectively identify and treat diseases such as depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and cognitive deficits. Biocortech has a strong clinical advisory group and drug development capabilities, enabling us to move diagnostic platforms and drugs into humans quickly and efficiently. Biocortech is based in Paris, France.
www.biocortech.com


Paris, Dec 18, 2007 : Biocortech EDIT technology further validated in a publication in the Journal of Molecular Pharmacology

New results published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmacology (December 14 issue) describe the results from Pr Joël Bockaert and his colleagues from the Institute of Functional Genomics in Montpellier (France), in collaboration with Mark J. Millan and his colleagues from the Servier Research Institute. The research program used Biocortech.s proprietary EDIT technology to examine serotonin 2C receptor (5HT2CR) mRNA editing profiles in primary cortical neurons. Key findings from the study are :

Primary cortical neurons predominantly express 5HT2CR isoforms that show high levels of constitutive activity (the ability to function in the absence of drugs.they are .always on.). These neurons exhibit a stable and consistent 5HT2CR editing profile, with reproducibility over 15 mRNA isoforms coding for 9 protein isoforms.

Antidepressants can function as inverse agonists (to decrease consistutive activity) or neutral antagonists (blocking the effects of agonists such as serotonin) at 5HT2CRs.

Understanding the editing profile can inform predictions about receptor pharmacology, and ultilmately aid in the discovery and development of novel antidepressants.

The authors conclude with suggestions to explore the clinical significance of these differences.
The full text of the publication can be found under .Inverse Agonist and Neutral Antagonist Actions of Antidepressants at Recombinant and Native 5HT2C Receptors : Differential Modulation of Cell Surface Expression and Signal Transduction,. by Benjamin Chanrion, Clotilde Mannoury La Cour, Sophie Gavarini, Mathieu Seimandi, Laurent Vincent, Jean-François Pujol, Joël Bockaert, Philippe Marin and Mark J Millan.
Journal of Molecular Pharmacology, Dec 14, 2007. /mol.107.041574

About the EDIT platform
Human beings have hardly more genes than a fruit fly, stressing the importance of mechanisms that increase molecular diversity at the post-transcriptional level. One such post-transcriptional event is RNA editing, which generates multiple protein isoforms from a single gene, often with profound physiological consequences. Despite the implications of RNA editing in receptor function, disease mechanisms, drug discovery applications, and potential clinical significance, significant technical limitations on the ability to generate complete receptor profiles have hampered progress in the field. Biocortech has addressed these limitations with its EDIT platform, which allows rapid, quantitative assessment of the full profile of edited receptors.

About Biocortech
Biocortech is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of novel biomarkers and treatments for psychiatric disorders. Biocortech has proprietary assays and technologies to identify biomarkers and develop compounds that can safely and effectively identify and treat diseases such as depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and cognitive deficits. Biocortech has a strong clinical advisory group and drug development capabilities, enabling us to move diagnostic platforms and drugs into humans quickly and efficiently. Biocortech is based in Paris, France.
www.biocortech.com


Paris, Oct 2, 2007 : Dinah Weissmann, Biocortech founder & CEO, is appointed to the Commission for freedom of Economic Growth in France

As part of a policy designed to remove structural obstacles to France.s economic growth, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked Mr. Jacques Attali, a renowned economist and former advisor to the late President François Mitterrand, to chair the Commission pour la Libération de la Croissance (Commission for freedom of economic growth), a commission of 43 key players from the French and international economic community. Dr. Dinah Weissmann has been selected to serve on this committee as representative of the biotechnology industry, in part because of her role in founding an innovative biotechnology company.

The goal of the Commission for freedom of Economic Growth in France
The Commission is tasked with finding ways to improve both competitiveness and productivity of the French economy, with the goal of raising France to a top 10 global economy. The first task is analysis of potential obstacles to investment and business development, after which the Commission will focus on ways to improve economic policies in light of company performance.

The Commission includes a number of working groups, with the "Competitiveness" and "Key sector identification" groups having the biggest impact on future growth.

Dinah Weissmann, a member of the Commission
Dinah Weissmann has served as Biocortech's Chief Executive Officer since founding the company in 2001. Dr Weissmann is an expert in neurobiology, with 20 years' experience in R&D project management. Prior to founding Biocortech, Dinah was a Senior Scientist at Roussel Uclaf (now part of Sanofi-Aventis). Her research background includes an appointment as a Research Director at the CNRS (Center for National Research and Science). She was also a co-founder of the CNRS Neuropharmacology lab at Lyon University. She is the author of 55 scientific publications and 8 patents in the field of neurosciences.

About Biocortech Biocortech is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery and development of novel biomarkers and treatments for psychiatric disorders. Biocortech has proprietary assays and technologies to identify biomarkers and develop compounds that can safely and effectively identify and treat diseases such as depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and cognitive deficits. Biocortech has a strong clinical advisory group and drug development capabilities, enabling us to move diagnostic platforms and drugs into humans quickly and efficiently. Biocortech is based in Paris, France.
www.biocortech.com


Paris, May 11th 2007

Biocortech is pleased to announce that the EDIT CNS project, which aims to discover novel treatments for psychiatric disorders, has been identified by Paris Biocluster (Pôle de compétitivité Medecin) and will be funded by the French Ministry of Industry. With Biocortech.s direction, this project will combine resources in chemo-informatics, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, cell biology, and toxicology from Medit, Prestwick Chemical, Biocortech, Biojectis, and an academic Inserm unit (U513).
This collaboration will generate novel drug candidates for depression as well as new tools for chemoinformatics and ADME-tox based on the modulation of mRNA editing.
This program will provide Biocortech with €1.9m in non-repayable, non-dilutive grant financing over the coming 3 years.
This grant is a recognition of the innovative science being developed in the company and within the EDIT Consortium partners.
This grant is a recognition of the innovative science being developed in the company and within the EDIT Consortium partners.

About Biocortech
Biocortech is a privately held company dedicated to develop innovative biomarkers and treatments for psychiatric disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and cognitive impairments.
Biocortech’s programs are deployed along three main axes  :
- pharmacologic reactivation of deficient pathways (therapeutics)
- serotonin receptor modulation through pharmacological manipulation of receptor editing (therapeutics)
- profiling of disease-related editing ‘signatures’ (biomarkers/diagnostics)


Paris : November 26th, 2006. : Servier and Biocortech have signed an agreement for the discovery and development of novel drugs to treat Central Nervous System disorders

Servier (Neuilly, France) and Biocortech (Paris, France) have signed an agreement for the discovery and development of novel drugs to treat Central Nervous System disorders. This partnership is based on Biocortech’s experience and know-how to select new classes of molecules able to restore pathways deficient in these pathologies. International Research Institute SERVIER will be in charge of pharmaco-clinic and clinical development for an international regulatory submission and market approval. SERVIER will own the world wide rights and will be in charge of commercialization.

About Servier
Servier is the first independent French pharmaceutical company, established in 1954 by its founder and current chairman, Jacques Servier, M.D., Pharm.D. The group is established in 140 countries and 80% of the Servier products are prescribed out of France. The sales turnover in 2005 rose to 2.8 billion euros, of which 25% is allocated to research and development. The Servier Group counts 16 Internationals Centers of Therapeutic Research, its principal therapeutic research orientations are the cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neuropsychiatric disorders, cancer and osteoarticular diseases.

About Biocortech
Biocortech SAS, spin off of Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, is a company focused on R&D of innovative drug therapies for neuro-psychiatric disorders. The company is developing new classes of pharmaceuticals able to restore gene expression in deficient pathways as well as receptor efficacy through the modulation of mRNA editing.

 

Feb 22, 2006 : Biocortech and Columbia University have signed an agreement on receptor editing

Paris, France February 22nd, 2006. Biocortech is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with Columbia University. This agreement includes a collaboration between Professor V..Arango and colleagues (Columbia University and the Division of Neuroscience, where the chief is Professor J.J. Mann) and Biocortech (Paris) to better understand the involvement of mRNA editing of one of the serotonergic receptors (5HT2C) in depression.

The serotonin receptor (5HT2C) is known to be involved in mood disorders. RNA editing can produce transcript variants that have different levels of signal transmission through the different coupling affinity of the receptor for the G protein. Some correlations between the modifications of this editing process and brain pathologies have been suggested.

Biocortech has developed a proprietary technology that allows it to generate the editing profiles of this receptor in human brain areas.

The Division of Neuroscience houses a large CNS tissue collection annotated by an associated medical information database that has been used for research in the field of depression and suicide.

The collaboration seeks to establish correlations between modifications of these 5HT2C editing profiles in the different brain areas and the psychopathologic status.

The aim of this collaboration is to better understand one level of regulation of mRNA involved in depression and to identify new therapeutic targets able to correct the dys-regulations occurring in depression and suicide.

About Biocortech

Biocortech, SAS, located in the Institut Pasteur in Paris, is a neuroscience company focused on the discovery of innovative drug therapies for neuro-psychiatric diseases. The company is developing a new class of proprietary pharmaceuticals, able to restore specifically gene expression in deficient aminergic pathways and to modulate efficacy of receptors through the regulation of mRNA editing processes. Many psychiatric pathologies, like depression, schizophrenia and cognitive deficits have been related to these deficits. Biocortech technologies offer a new way to address these deficits and to be efficient on the high proportion of patients resistant to available therapies. For more information about Biocortech please contact : contact@biocortech.com or www.biocortech.com

About Columbia University

Founded in 1754 as King's College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and today is one of the world's leading academic and research institutions. For more information about Columbia University, visit www.columbia.edu

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