EUROCALIN Consortium Initiates EU Grant Funded Collaboration to Develop Novel Anticalin Therapeutic to Treat Anemia

Freising, Germany (ots) -

- Consortium Will Receive Six Million Euro from Seventh Framework
Programme

The EUROCALIN Consortium, comprising 10 companies and universities
from across Europe, has initiated a collaboration focused on
attaining and completing initial clinical development of a novel
Anticalin® therapeutic. The project will be funded in large part by
the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme
(FP7-Health.2011.1.4.3; grant agreement number 278408). Anticalins
are novel, next generation therapeutic proteins designed to bind and
antagonize a wide spectrum of ligands. As funded by the grant, the
Consortium will develop, manufacture and clinically test an Anticalin
specific for hepcidin. Hepcidin, a small peptide circulating in
human blood, is considered to be a key regulator of iron homeostasis
and, therefore, an important target for the treatment of multiple
types of anemia.

EUROCALIN stands for "EUROpean Consortium for AntiCALINS as next
generation high-affinity protein therapeutics". The objective of the
EUROCALIN Consortium is to advance a drug candidate, to date in
preclinical development at Pieris AG, through to completion of a
Phase I a/b clinical trial. With the total funding allotment of six
million Euro, the grant is designed to fund the majority of the
continuing development of the anti-hepcidin Anticalin program over
the next four years, using the expertise of both academic and
commercial organizations throughout Europe.

The Consortium consists of Pieris AG (Germany), as project
coordinator; Technische Universität München (Germany); Medical
University of Innsbruck (Austria); Radboud University Nijmegen
Medical Centre (Netherlands); Covance Laboratories Ltd. (UK);
Antitope Ltd. (UK); FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Ltd.UK Limited
(UK); Coriolis Pharma Research GmbH (Germany); FGK Clinical Research
GmbH (Germany); and ConsulTech GmbH (Germany).

For the purpose of providing background information on the
project, the Consortium members and the media contacts for each
organization, as well as up to date progress reports for the project,
the Consortium has launched a dedicated website: www.eurocalin-fp7.eu
.

Anticalins are therapeutic proteins derived from human lipocalins,
rationally engineered to solve the pharmacological and pharmaceutical
limitations of both protein- and non-protein-based drug platforms.

For further information, please visit the EUROCALIN website or
contact:
Andreas Hohlbaum, Ph.D.,
EUROCALIN Project Coordinator and Vice President,
Strategic Research and Project Management, Pieris AG,
+49 8161 1411400

or

Gretchen Schweitzer,
+49 172 861 8540,
media@pieris-ag.com