EpiCept partners with GNI on hepatitis antiviral

GNI Ltd, a biopharmaceutical company operating in Japan and China, and EpiCept Corp, a USA-based specialty pharmaceutical firm, have reached agreement to develop a new therapeutic drug, EP1013, in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, for late-stage viral infection-induced hepatitis. EpiCept will retain the rights in the rest of the world. GNI's wholly-owned subsidiary Shanghai Genomics will start preparation for pre-Investigatinal New Drug and clinical development in China immediately.

In return for granting a license to GNI to develop EP1013, EpiCept earned an upfront license fee and will be eligible for milestone payments and royalties on commercial sales.

EP1013 is a di-peptide small-molecule compound with potent and irreversible inhibitory effect on caspases, a class of enzymes critical for cell death and inflammatory response. Initial tests of EP1013 by the US firm and Shanghai Genomics have shown promising efficacy in animal models of liver failure, brain ischemia and myocardial infarction. EP1013 was discovered by EpiCept scientists and is covered by patents in the USA, China and other key markets.