Chiroscience Still Seeking Partner; Interim Results

Contrary to speculation (Marketletter October 7), Chiroscience did not reveal at the time of its interim results announcement that it has reached an agreement with a major drug company regarding either its anticancer agent D3967, or its treatment for arthritis D5410. However, the firm's chief executive, John Padfield, said: "we are in a strong financial position, growing our revenues and, with five products in clinical trials and the exciting prospects for our lead drug, levobupivacaine, I am confident that the next six months will see further progress for the group."

Finance director Christine Soden told the Marketletter that Chiroscience has seven or eight programs that it hopes will interest development partners and that on this basis, it has been talking to a lot of pharmaceutical companies.

She added that products such as the firm's antiasthma and antiarthiritis agents, D4418 and D5410, run up huge costs in development, and that Chiroscience is particularly looking for partners for these products, and its anticancer agent, D3967.