Major Commitment to Develop  Immunological Approaches for Alzheimer's Disease

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 3, 2001 -- Tel Aviv University (TAU) announced today that they have signed a multi-year research, license and development agreement with Elan Corporation and American Home Products Corporation  to collaborate on the research and development of immunological approaches for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

Under the terms of the agreement, both Elan and AHP have acquired co-exclusive worldwide rights to a body of technologies developed by a team of scientists at TAU led by Professor Beka Solomon of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at TAU. These technologies comprise novel immunological approaches for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

The terms of the agreement provide for TAU to receive an up-front payment, research funding for a period of five years, additional payments for the achievement of key regulatory milestones, and royalties on product sales. The framework of the agreement also provides for the possible expansion of research and rights to include other diseases and disorders that may be related to the formation of amyloid plaques.

The agreement with TAU builds upon the existing alliance between AHP and Elan, announced in April of 2000, to collaborate in research, development and commercialization of an experimental therapy called AN-1792, an immunotherapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease that is currently in clinical trials.

Commenting on the collaboration with TAU, Dr. Dale Schenk, Senior Vice President, Discovery Research at Elan says, ``We are delighted to be collaborating with Professor Solomon, a true pioneer in the field of Alzheimer's disease research.''

``This is a very substantial agreement,'' states Isaac T. Kohlberg, CEO of the Economic Corporation at TAU and Chairman of Ramot, TAU's technology transfer arm. ``It is one of the most significant agreements between a university and industry in recent memory, and firmly links Tel Aviv University with two world leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector.''

``We are very excited about collaborating with American Home Products, a recognized leader in vaccine and biotech research, and Elan, a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and marketing of therapeutic products and services in neurology, '' said Professor Itamar Rabinovich, President of TAU and former Ambassador to the United States from Israel. ``We expect that through this collaboration Tel Aviv University will make a major contribution to the development of new treatments for one of the most devastating diseases affecting the aging population around the world.''

Tel Aviv University is Israel's largest and most diversified university. Located in Israel's cultural, financial and industrial heartland, it is a major center of teaching and research, comprising nine Faculties, 105 departments, 24 schools, over 80 research institutes, 100 endowed chairs and more than 26,000 students. Its faculty of Life Sciences has approximately 1000 undergraduate and 400 graduate students.

SOURCE: Tel Aviv University