Licensing Executives Society Announces 2009 Deals of Distinction Awards

SAN FRANCISCO--(Business Wire)--
Intellectual property (IP) development and the licensing of IP is an essential
component of innovation in our knowledge-based economy. Each year, major IP
deals between companies help drive innovation and ensure that new products
continue to reach businesses and consumers.

To highlight the best of these deals, the Licensing Executives Society (USA &
Canada), Inc. (LES) today presented its Deals of DistinctionTM Awards to winners
in five industry sectors. The awards were given at the LES Annual Meeting in San
Francisco, California.

"Now more than ever, our economy needs intellectual property and the innovation
in products and services that IP helps to achieve," said Rimma Driscoll, chair
of the LES Deals of Distinction Award Committee. "We are proud to recognize
these winning deals, because they are making a real difference."

The 2009 LES Deals of Distinction Awards Winners are:

Chemicals, Energy, Environment, and Materials (CEEM) Sector: HP and Xtreme
Energetics

Drawing upon a rich history of innovation, HP collaborated with Oregon State
University (OSU) to develop transparent transistor technology, also known as
multi-component oxide (MCO) semiconductors. Xtreme Energetics, a solar energy
system developer, entered into a technology collaboration and licensing
agreement with HP to adapt this technology for use in a solar energy system
designed to generate electricity at twice the efficiency and half the cost of
traditional solar panels.

This deal demonstrates the versatility that transparent transistors hold to
solve meaningful problems in applications ranging from flat-panel OLED and LCD
displays to green energy solutions. Xtreme Energetics is now further developing
the technology in its own labs and funding research at OSU.

"HP`s license and technology collaboration agreement with Xtreme Energetics
exemplifies how a global technology company finds a way to speed up its
deployment of advanced technology through a business and technology development
partnership," said Bob Payne of IP Licensing Advisors LLC, co-chair of the Deals
of Distinction for the LES CEEM Sector.

Jeff Wendt of Pramudji Wendt & Tran, LLP, also co-chair of the Deals of
Distinction for the LES CEEM Sector, added, "This deal was intriguing because it
hit on all facets of our sector: chemical, energy, environment, and materials."

Consumer Products Sector: Allergan and the Clinique Laboratories, LLC

Allergan, Inc. and Clinique Laboratories, LLC partnered to produce a new line of
high-end skin-care products to be sold exclusively through physicians in the
United States. Clinique developed and manufactures the products and sells them
to Allergan, which then markets and distributes them under the Clinique Medical
brand. The products complement in-office aesthetic procedures, such as laser
peels and microdermabrasion.

"We are delighted to recognize the innovative relationship between these two
companies," said Dan O`Neill, co-chair of the LES Consumer Products Sector.
"Their relationship epitomizes the critical interplay between brand and
technology; consumers will benefit from Allergan`s marketing and distribution of
Clinique`s innovative Clinique Medical skin care products."

High Technology Sector: SRC and Sandia National Labs

Sandia National Laboratories, which began an innovative approach called the
National Institute for Nano-Engineering (NINE) to facilitate the education of
students and improve U.S. competitiveness, partnered with Semiconductor Research
Corporation (SRC) to supplement the flow of funding, information and
intellectual property rights between industry, universities, and the national
labs. A novel aspect of the partnership is the creation of a cooperative
research and development agreement with a subsidiary nonprofit entity structured
to allow broad industrial and university participation.

With a broad range of technical expertise in all the disciplines critical to
advancing nanotechnologies, Sandia will identify potential projects for NINE
that involve university collaborators and address pressing U.S. needs, and will
then collaborate with universities and industry participants. SRC has 27 years
of experience in arranging collaborative research for the semiconductor
industry, defining industry needs and investing in and managing the research
that gives its members a competitive advantage in the dynamic global
marketplace.

"This deal represents a unique collaboration as part of the National Institute
for Nano-Engineering (NINE) partnership between government and industry," said
Brian Kacedon, chair of the LES High Technology Sector. "The deal has the
potential to result in real advances in the diverse field of nano-engineering,
including nano-engineered chemical processes, nano-composites, and nano
manufacturing. In addition, it is also providing a forum for the training of the
next generation of nanotechnology researchers."

Industry-University-Government Interface (IUGI) Sector: Hope Pharmaceuticals,
Aires Pharmaceuticals and the U.S. National Institutes of Health

The award winner for this category is a group of licensing agreements for the
development of sodium nitrite as a repurposed pharmaceutical agent potentially
effective against a number of serious medical conditions. The National
Institutes of Health (NIH), supported by four university collaborators, was able
complete exclusive license agreements with Hope Pharmaceuticals (for infused
delivery) and Aires Pharmaceuticals (for inhaled delivery) to develop new
treatments for conditions not well-managed by existing therapies.

The license agreements were based upon the discovery by four NIH institutes
(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Heart Lung &
Blood Institute, Clinical Center, and National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases) and four universities (Loma Linda University,
Louisiana State University, University of Alabama, and Wake Forest University)
that low, physiological and non-toxic concentrations of sodium nitrite could be
used in disease indications such as pulmonary hypertension, ischemia-reperfusion
injury, hemolytic disease, hemoglobinopathies (including sickle cell disease)
and cerebral vasospasm. Sodium nitrite is currently only available to patients
by intravenous delivery for the treatment of cyanide poisoning.

"This deal showcases the positive results that can be obtained through the
cooperation/collaboration of multiple institutions, and is also a significant
accomplishment in the successful licensing of a generic compound," said Elaine
White, chair of the LES UIGI Sector.

Health Care Sector: Eli Lilly and United Therapeutics

In November, 2008, Eli Lilly and Company and United Therapeutics Corporation
entered into a license and a supply agreement related to the U.S.
commercialization rights for the pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
indication of Lilly`s molecule, tadalafil. United Therapeutics made an upfront
payment of $150 million to Lilly for the exclusive rights to commercialize
tadalafil for PAH in the United States, as well as for a product manufacturing
and supply arrangement. Lilly purchased $150 million of United Therapeutics
common stock. The transaction will greatly enhance the ability to provide this
medicine as a new therapeutic option for patients of this very serious disease.

"This deal is a clear demonstration of the power of courage and creativity in
licensing," said Mark Nawacki, chair of the LES Life Sciences Sector.
"Historically, large pharma has been very cautious in partnering deals for new
indications on major strategic brands such as tadalafil (marketed as Cialis by
Lilly). This is an inspired transaction because the financial deal structure
mitigates such concerns while the equity purchase component enables a solution
in the worst capital market we have seen in a generation."

Licensing Executives Society (USA & Canada), Inc.
Al Rickard, 703-402-9713
arickard@associationvision.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009