Almirall announces Parkinson’s disease research programme licensing agreement with Neurocrine Biosciences

Barcelona, Spain, November 10th 2004.- Almirall announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. for research into A2A receptor antagonists for Parkinson’s Disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Neurocrine and Almirall will share exclusive territorial rights and registration data from their respective markets for products identified during the research term. The compounds licensed from Almirall to Neurocrine Biosciences are selective A2Areceptor antagonists, that have proven efficacy in preclinical models of Parkinson’s Disease.

“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with a fast-growing and high-profile American biopharmaceutical company such as Neurocrine Biosciences. We are hopeful that this association could bring new products to help a growing number of people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease”, said José Mª Palacios, PhD, Executive Director R&D at Almirall.

Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that selective A2A receptor antagonists relieve Parkinsonian symptoms as monotherapy and, when administered in combination with standard treatment L-DOPA, can augment the beneficial effects of this therapy, while reducing dyskinesias, a troubling side effect of L-DOPA therapy.

“We expect that the combination of Almirall´s know-how in obtaining selective adenosine receptor modulators with Neurocrine’s expertise in neurology R&D will be fruitful”, saidHamish Ryder, PhD, Director of Research at Almirall.

“Parkinson’s Disease is a devastating condition and more advanced treatments are urgently needed,” said Alan C. Foster, PhD, Senior Director of Neuroscience at Neurocrine Biosciences.

"We have long recognized Almirall's expertise in Research and Development, as evidenced by the U.S. registration of their CNS product Almotriptan for the acute treatment of migraine. We are pleased to have consummated a unique deal that allows Neurocrine to bring complementary development candidates in the neuroscience area to our broad and diversified pipeline,” said Chrysa Mineo, Director of Business Development for Neurocrine Biosciences.

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on neurological and endocrine diseases and disorders. Its product candidates are aimed, largely, at some of the most widespread pathologies, including insomnia, anxiety, depression, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, eating disorders, pain and autoimmunity. Further information on Neurocrine is available on the following website: http://www.neurocrine.com

Parkinson’s, a Disease of the Twenty-First Century

Parkinson’s is a disease of the nervous system which affects the cerebral structures responsible for movement control and coordination, such as the maintenance of muscle tone and posture.

Current figures show that there are approximately 60,000 sufferers of Parkinson’s Disease in Spain, and half a million in the U.S.A. These figures translate as 200 out of every 100,000 people and 2 out of every 100 people over the age of 65.

Taking into consideration the rise in life expectancy of the population, it is probable that Parkinson’s Disease will become increasingly prevalent in our society.

Almirall, the leading Spanish multinational pharmaceutical company

The main aim of Almirall, the leading Spanish multinational pharmaceutical company, is to provide society with innovative drugs to combat discomfort and disease, thus helping to improve health and quality of life. To this end, it constantly devotes the maximum human and financial resources to researching new products.

The company’s main research fields fall within the areas related to the treatment of asthma, COPD, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The company plans to invest some 500 million euros in R&D during the next five years, and the total sales forecasts for 2004 are projected to reach 956 million euros. Its estimated staff for 2004 is 3.321 people, of whom 518 are related to R&D activities.

The company also has four R&D centres and six manufacturing plants, as well as branch offices in the main cities of Spain and subsidiaries in Europe and Latin America.

Its annual production forecast for this year stands at 88 million units, and products resulting from its own R&D are marketed in over 80 countries around the world. Further information on Almirall is available on the following website: http://www.almirall.es