Gedeon Richter and Orion Corporation to collaborate on the discovery and development of new chemical entities in the field of cognitive disorders

BUDAPEST and ESPOO, 27-3-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — Gedeon Richter Plc. (‘Richter’) and Orion Corporation (‘Orion’) today announced that the two companies have entered into a comprehensive and long term collaboration agreement for the discovery and development of new chemical entities in the field of cognitive disorders.

According to the agreement the partnership provides an opportunity whereby the two companies jointly select and bring forward three discovery phase candidates and share all the development related expenses on an equal base. Under the terms of the agreement the territory related marketing rights have not been determined yet.

Dr Zsolt Szombathelyi, Research Director of Richter commented: ‘I am very excited about the cooperation with Orion, which strengthens the research in the CNS area of both companies in a cost and time efficient way. We highly appreciate the level of professionalism of Orion staff, which will add to our current knowledge and experience, resulting in mutual benefit for both parties. We look forward to working with Orion team and jointly developing new therapies in order to meet both patients’ and doctors’ unmet needs.’

Dr Reijo Salonen, Senior Vice President of R&D at Orion added: ‘Alzheimer’s Disease and other neuropsychiatric conditions with cognition deficit are devastating illnesses and at Orion, we are deeply motivated to develop new therapies for these patients. A fundamental pillar of our R and D model is to seek collaborations that leverage the strengths of both organizations, and at Richter we have found scientific skills and an organizational culture that will likely result in a successful partnership. This collaboration increases probability to succeed in this challenging therapeutic area. Colleagues from both companies are looking forward to working together in the future.’

About Gedeon Richter Plc.

Gedeon Richter Plc. headquartered in Budapest/Hungary, is a major pharmaceutical company in Central Eastern Europe, with an expanding direct presence in Western Europe. Richter’s consolidated sales were approximately EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.5 billion) while its market capitalization amounted to EUR 2.3 billion (USD 3.1 billion) in 2012. The product portfolio of the Company covers almost all important therapeutic areas, including gynecology, central nervous system and cardiovascular. Having the largest R&D unit in Central Eastern Europe, the Company’s original research activity focuses on CNS disorders. With its widely acknowledged steroid chemistry expertise Richter is a significant player in the female healthcare field worldwide. Richter is also active in the scope of biosimilar product development.

About Orion Corporation

Orion is a globally operating Finnish company developing pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tests – a builder of well-being. Orion develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, active pharmaceutical ingredients and diagnostic tests. The company is continuously developing new drugs and treatment methods. Pharmaceutical R&D focuses on central nervous system drugs, oncology and critical care drugs, and Easyhaler® pulmonary drugs.

Orion’s net sales in 2012 amounted to EUR 980 million and the company had about 3,500 employees. Orion’s A and B shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

More information:
Gedeon Richter Plc.

Investors: Katalin Ördög tel. +36 1 431 5680

Media: Zsuzsa Beke tel. +36 1 431 4888

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