UCB Initiates Phase 1b US-Based Multicenter Clinical Trial in Parkinson’s Disease Patients with UCB0599, a Compound Arising from the Neuropore-UCB Collaboration

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALS?src=hash" target="_blank"gt;#ALSlt;/agt;–Neuropore
Therapies, Inc. announced today that partner UCB initiated a
multicenter clinical trial in Parkinson’s disease patients with UCB0599
in the United States of America. UCB0599, an alpha-synuclein misfolding
inhibitor, is a therapeutic candidate arising from the Neuropore-UCB
collaboration. Neuropore will receive a $5 million (USD) award as a
result of achieving this milestone.

“We are pleased to reach the milestone of advancing into Parkinson’s
patients for the first time with UCB0599, a therapeutic candidate
arising from our collaboration with UCB. We believe that inhibition of
alpha-synuclein misfolding and oligomerization with an orally active,
brain penetrant, small molecule represents a potential advantage over
antibody therapeutics that are currently in development,” stated Errol
De Souza, President and CEO of Neuropore Therapies.

As announced in January 2015, Neuropore Therapies granted UCB a
world-wide license to develop and commercialize alpha-synuclein
targeting molecules in all indications. As a result of the milestone
achieved with UCB0599, Neuropore will have cumulatively received $43
million of the potential $460 million in total milestones through its
collaboration with UCB.

About Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative
disorder after Alzheimer’s disease. There are an estimated seven to ten
million patients with PD worldwide. The age of onset is approximately 60
years. Current treatments for PD are effective at managing the early
motor symptoms of the disease, mainly through the use of levodopa and
dopamine agonists. As the disease progresses and dopaminergic neurons
continue to be lost, these drugs eventually become less effective at
treating the symptoms.

About UCB0599

UCB0599 is an orally bioavailable, brain barrier penetrant small
molecule that prevents the oligomerization of alpha-synuclein.
Alpha-synuclein oligomerization and aggregation is implicated in
Parkinson’s disease and other degenerative diseases. By inhibiting
misfolding and oligomerization of alpha-synuclein, it is believed that
the progression of Parkinson’s disease can be slowed or halted. UCB0599
belongs to a series of molecules discovered by Neuropore, which were
licensed to UCB in 2014.

About UCB

UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com)
is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and
development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives
of people living with severe diseases in immunology or neurology. With
around 7,500 people, operating in 40 countries, the company generated
revenue of € 4.6 billion in 2018. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels
(symbol: UCB). Follow us on Twitter: @UCBUSA

About Neuropore Therapies, Inc.

Neuropore
Therapies Inc. is a San Diego, California based biopharmaceutical
company developing novel disease modifying small molecule therapeutics
for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Neuropore’s
therapeutic candidates block the neurotoxic oligomeric aggregates of
misfolded proteins which are the primary drivers of disease pathology by
preventing the induction of damaging neuroinflammation mechanisms common
to many neurodegenerative disorders. By targeting the underlying
mechanisms by which neuroinflammation drives the cycle of protein
pathology and neurodegeneration, Neuropore’s therapeutic candidates
could have broad applications in slowing disease progression and
improving symptoms across a wide range of neuro- inflammatory /
neuro-degenerative disorders.

Neuropore possesses a pipeline with two therapeutic candidates in
clinical development, UCB0599 and NPT520-34,
In addition, Neuropore is developing several other small molecule
programs that are in lead optimization and/or preclinical development.

For more information visit www.neuropore.com

Forward looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current
information, projections and assumptions of management. Statements in
this press release that are not strictly historical in nature are
forward-looking statements. By their nature forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and
uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Important factors that could result in such differences include the
risks and uncertainties inherent in drug discovery, development,
approval and commercialization, collaborations with others, and the fact
that past results of clinical trials and regulatory decisions may not be
indicative of future trial results or regulatory decisions.

Contacts

For further information
Media Contact Neuropore:
Errol
De Souza, Ph.D.
President & Chief Executive Officer
T +1
858-273-1831
[email protected]