Copernicus to Further Development of Non-Viral Gene Therapy for Parkinson`s Disease

CLEVELAND--(Business Wire)--
Copernicus Therapeutics, Inc., announced today a collaborative effort with the
University of Kentucky (UK) to develop a DNA nanoparticle therapy for
Parkinson`s disease. Based on positive initial treatments in a rat model of
Parkinson`s disease, conducted by Dr. David Yurek at UK, a second phase of
studies will now work to optimize the nanoparticle payload, a DNA expression
system that is capable of expressing candidate therapeutic genes for months, if
not years, in the affected brain regions of Parkinson`s disease patients.

"Copernicus` unique, non-viral nanoparticle formulation is designed to safely
and effectively deliver and express therapeutic genes and siRNAs to sites of
human disease, including the brain, eye, and lung," said Mark J. Cooper, senior
VP of Science and Medical Affairs at Copernicus. "We are most encouraged by the
positive treatment results of Parkinson`s disease rats treated with DNA
nanoparticles containing the GDNF gene. Copernicus has developed proprietary
expression elements that achieve long term gene expression in various tissues,
and sustained expression of GDNF in the rat brain will lead to further IND-track
studies for a phase I human clinical trial in Parkinson`s disease subjects."

"I have long maintained that it is important for UK researchers to reach out and
partner with industry leaders," said UK President Lee T. Todd, Jr. "Dr. Yurek`s
research collaboration with Copernicus Therapeutics is a perfect example of how
we can leverage the innovation and discovery in our labs to add value to private
sector companies. And I hope the partnership will lead to some important
breakthroughs in our on-going battle against Parkinson`s disease."

Funding for this project has been provided by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for
Parkinson`s Research.

About Copernicus

Copernicus Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, is
dedicated to delivering the promise of nucleic acid therapeutics. The same
technology that delivers the GDNF gene to Parkinson`s disease patients can be
applied to treating other brain disorders, retinitis pigmentosa and other ocular
diseases, and the lung manifestations of cystic fibrosis. The Copernicus
multi-component delivery platform and expression systems can be used to develop
nucleic acid therapies for numerous human diseases. Additional information about
Copernicus is available at http://www.copernicustherapeutics.com.

Copernicus Therapeutics, Inc.
Mark J. Cooper, M.D., 216-231-0227 x 23
Sr. V.P. of Science and Medical Affairs
mcooper@cgsys.com
or
Robert C. Moen, M.D., Ph.D., 216-231-0227 x26
President & CEO
rmoen@cgsys.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009